Shadows Of Demons
by Panseru
Summary: (shonen-ai & slightly yaoi) Darkness... swirling, misty shadows creeping under the door... blotting out all the light... coming for you, coming to take you away... to kill the light... you will succumb to the darkness, demon...
1. The Darkness Approaches

Shadows of Demons  
  
Pan: If enough people review and say they like this, I'll continue ^-^  
  
Darkness... swirling, misty shadows creeping under the door... blotting out  
all the light... coming for you, coming to take you away... to kill the  
light... you will succumb to the darkness, demon...  
  
Yami sat bolt upright, ruby eyes wide. He breathed heavily as he looked around the room nervously. Silvery moonlight filtered through the window. It was indeed dark, but not as dark as the darkness Yami had dreamed of. Laying back down, he stared at the ceiling. His senses flared to life as he  
felt the presence of those around him.  
  
It had been a month since he had been given his own room. He could sense  
Yugi sleeping in the next room. He could sense Ryou at his house, but disturbingly, not Bakura. A little more distant, the dormant powers of Seto  
Kaiba, and Ishizu, still located somewhere in Japan.  
  
Then something else.  
  
A portal to the Shadow Realm.  
  
Not a very big one, but it was there. And no-one had opened it, according  
to Yami's senses.  
  
He frowned as small stones began to rap on his window. Shaking the last of sleep away, he got up to investigate. Quietly, so as not to wake Yugi, he  
crept down the stairs, and opened the door. Bakura stood there with a handful of gravel. "Ok..." he said, looking at Yami and smirking. "That's a bit more than I'd like to see of you, especially at this time of night."  
Yami had slept in his boxers.  
  
"Look, just shut up and tell me what you want." Yami said irritably. "Did  
you sense it too?" Bakura asked quickly. Yami's eyes widened, and he  
nodded. "It's happened twice before. You might not have noticed, if you  
were asleep, but it's getting closer to us each time. We're not safe."  
Bakura said, a note of panic in his voice. Yami remembered his dream. "Something is coming for us. Get Ryou now, bring him here. I can protect this house with my magic, lock anything dark out, but if we're in danger, it's best we do it now." he told Bakura. The Tomb Robber darted off towards  
his house. Yami shut the door, and made the decision to wake Yugi.  
  
He went into his aibou's room, and crept over to the bed. Yami smiled, as the little light looked like a sleeping angel in his eyes. "Yugi..." Yami said, crouching down. "Yugi, wake up." The boy, who had been lying on his back, merely rolled onto his side facing away from Yami. Yami got up, and  
walked around to the other side of the bed, and sat on the floor. Yami smiled; his face was only inches from Yugi's. "I know what will wake him  
up..." He lent forward, and kissed Yugi on the lips. He ran his tongue  
along Yugi's lower lip, and waited for the boy to return the kiss. Yugi slowly opened his mouth, allowing Yami entrance, and opened his eyes at the same time. Yami's eyes were closed; he wasn't really aware that his light had awoken. He leaned into the kiss more deeply, and put his arm over Yugi  
to pull the smaller boy towards him. Yugi smiled inwardly.  
  
/Yami?/  
  
//Mmm?//  
  
/I'm awake now./  
  
//Oh!//  
  
Yami opened his eyes, and pulled away. "Not that I wasn't enjoying it." Yugi smiled. "But what do you want? It's nearly one in the morning." Yami stood up. "Get dressed, we're having visitors to stay. Both me and Bakura have sensed something, something dark, coming towards us. It's something  
from the Shadow Realm, and we think it's dangerous. Bakura and Ryou are coming here so that I can seal off the house to anything evil." he said.  
Yugi rubbed his eyes, and sat up on his bed, looking at Yami. "OK. But first... can I have another one?" he said, smiling, and blushing cutely.  
Yami nodded, and sat down next to him.  
  
~~  
  
Bakura walked towards Yami and Yugi's house, practically pulling his half- asleep light behind him. He stopped abruptly as he sensed something evil nearby. He hurried on to his destination, ringing the doorbell quickly when  
he got there. Yugi answered the door, grinning. He was dressed in blue jeans, and a white T-shirt. Not his normal look, but good enough at this  
early hour. "Come in, Yami's just getting out of the shower. Bakura  
shuddered. "More images..." he muttered. He walked through the door, pulling Ryou. "You'll have to excuse him." Bakura said. "He's very tired out. Had a busy night." Yugi didn't think he needed to ask what his fellow light had been doing. "That's OK. Just lay him down on the sofa." he said  
instead. Bakura picked his light up, and walked into the living room.  
  
Yami came down the stairs, wearing virtually the same as Yugi, except his  
jeans were darker, and his shirt was black. "Both here?" he asked. Yugi smiled and nodded. "Good. Come on, we want this house to be safe as soon as possible." He walked down to Yugi, and kissed him quickly. Yugi shut the  
front door, and followed his darker into the living room.  
  
Bakura was sitting there with Ryou's head in his lap, while the albino light slept on. "Silly boy." he commented. "Wake up, Ryou!" Yami smiled,  
sitting down in a chair, with Yugi happily sitting on the arm of it. "I know a good way of waking him up." Yami said thoughtfully. "But Yugi would kill me if I showed you how." Yugi giggled. "Ryou!" Bakura said sharply.  
"Why the hell won't you wake up?!" "Kiss him." Yami told Bakura. "Works  
charms." Yugi hit the Pharaoh playfully. Bakura almost looked too disbelieving. "You two close your eyes then." Yami closed his eyes. Yugi  
closed his too, but opened them as soon as he was sure Bakura wouldn't  
notice.  
  
Bakura lifted Ryou's head up, and nervously bent over to kiss him. When his  
lips touched those of his hikari, the boy awoke almost immediately, and returned it. When pulled away, he said, "OK, done, I'm awake, what do you want?" And after observation of his surroundings, "And why are we in Yugi's  
house?" 


	2. Spells

Shadows of Demons  
  
Pan: Oh, Malik and Marik don't appear until much, much later on... quite  
the contrary in fact! Anyways, thank you for your reviews, and read on!  
  
It didn't take Bakura long to explain everything to Ryou. When he was assured that they would be safe, and friends could come to visit, he was  
finally happy to stay put. Yami got to his feet. "Bakura, I'm going to start the protection spell. It's been a while since I've done it, and I've never done for a whole house, so..." He paused. "... if I pass out, just  
pick up where I left off, ok?" Yugi jumped up beside him. "What shall I do?" he asked. "Just stay here." Yami said. "If you begin to feel tired, that's just because I might need some of your energy to finish the spell."  
Yugi nodded.  
  
Yami closed his eyes, and focused on the Puzzle. It began to glow brightly, a strange golden glow, that after a minutes crept out to cover it's user, and spill like water across the floor. Yami mouthed ancient Egyptian words silently, and Bakura stood ready to take over. The glow flowed throughout all the rooms in the house, but just as Yami was beginning to enchant the  
last two rooms, he sank to his knees, and the Puzzle's glow faltered.  
Bakura jumped in, enchanting the final rooms, only these rooms had a  
strange red-gold glow.  
  
Yugi helped Yami onto the sofa. "You alright?" he asked quietly. Yami  
nodded slowly. "Just tired." Yugi smiled. "Then sleep." Yami closed his  
eyes, and was asleep almost instantly.  
  
"Alright there, Bakura?" Yugi asked. "Yes, 'course. The spell's complete; we're perfectly safe here now." Bakura smiled. The glow disappeared. "Just be careful when you come and go." Yugi nodded. He looked down at Yami. "Do I leave him here or not?" he asked no-one in particular. "Yes." Ryou said. "No need to move him." Yugi sighed. "I'm hungry. Who wants breakfast?" he said. Ryou glanced at the clock. "It's still only 3:30..." he began. "Ryou!  
He's offering food!" Bakura said. "I've been up all night. I've love  
something to eat, Yugi." he said politely.  
  
"Come on then, and keep it down." Yugi led them into the kitchen.  
  
--  
  
Pathetic... hah, you sorry excuse for a Pharaoh, magic can't keep your destiny away! Sure, it keep part of the path towards your destiny out, but  
it will happen eventually.  
  
"Who are you?" Yami called.  
  
I'm your fate, Pharaoh.  
  
"What?"  
  
I'm your fate. You cheated me for five-thousand years, hidden in your  
Puzzle, but the time has come for you to face me.  
  
"You can't get to me... I've sealed the house to everything except who and  
what I want there."  
  
But I'm already inside.  
  
"What?! How?"  
  
I'm inside you, Yami.  
  
"You can't be..."  
  
And you've locked out all that can stop me. And that's only one person.  
  
"Who?"  
  
I'll tell you, because it won't help you.  
  
"Who, dammit!?"  
  
Seto Kaiba.  
  
"Kaiba?!"  
  
Wakey wakey, Pharaoh...  
  
--  
  
Yami's ruby-red eyes snapped open, and he sat up. Looking at the clock, it was 6 am. He stood up, looking around for Yugi and the others. "Hey, Yami." Yugi wandered in, his mouth full of toast. Ryou followed him, both face and  
hair blackened as if there had been an explosion. "What happened?" Yami asked. Ryou laughed. "Let's just say you should never let Bakura anywhere near a toaster. It's taken us two hours to make breakfast!" he explained.  
  
"At least I managed to put it out..." Bakura said stubbornly, even more burnt than Ryou. "Ah." Yami said shortly. "Are you alright?" Yugi asked. "Yes, yes, fine..." Yami said, though he was visibly shaking. "No, you're  
not." Yugi walked right up to him. "You're shaking. What's wrong?" Yami  
sighed. "Just a dream..." he said, smiling down at Yugi. "Nothing to be  
worried about." "If you're sure..." Yugi said.  
  
Bakura snatched up the remote control, and sat down as he switched the TV on. He yawned, flicking through the channels. "Boring... boring... crap... boring... seen it already... the old man dies in this... boring... I do not  
want life insurance... nor do I want washing powder... boring..." he  
commented on each of the TV channels. He paused on a news channel.  
  
"And our top story, police in Domino are currently investigating the disappearence of a teenage boy. They have issued a detailed description, from photographs provided by his older sister. She earlier asked to make a  
TV appearence, in the hope of getting her brother returned sooner." the newsreader said. The picture changed to show an Egyptian woman, wearing a  
long beige dress.  
  
"Ishizu?!" Yami and Yugi exclaimed, gaping at the TV. "But that means...  
Malik's gone missing..." Ryou said.  
  
"Please, anyone with information pertaining the whereabouts of my brother,  
come forward. Though I seriously doubt anyone does have information concerning my brother, Malik Ishtar, I am pretty sure there are four boys  
in Domino who have an idea of what is going on, ne, Peraa-sama?"  
  
Bakura turned the TV off as the picture returned to the newsreader. "So  
Malik's gone... whatever-it-is is coming after us one by one." he said.  
Yami's eyes widened. "I want Seto Kaiba here, as soon as possible. I believe it may go after him next." Bakura looked at him curiously. "But in this incarnation, he has no magical abilities, why would it go after him?"  
he asked. Yami took a deep breath.  
  
"Because he's the one who can stop my fate."  
  
('Peraa' is an Egyptian word meaning 'Great House' from which the word  
'Pharaoh' was derived.) 


	3. On Blackened Wings

Shadows of Demons  
  
"Seto! Since when has Yami steered you wrong?" Yugi complained, attempting to get the CEO to his [Yugi's] house. Seto was firmly disagreeing. "No! How am I supposed to run my company if I can't be here?" he said back, sounding  
very annoyed. "With that laptop you keep carrying around; you seem to  
manage it the rest of the time." Yugi told him. "Don't make me fetch  
Bakura!"  
  
"Tell Pharaoh to leave me alone! I won't go with you!" Seto pushed the smaller boy out of his office. "Good bye!" Yugi turned, and left, looking  
sulky all the way home. "Fine, but be it on his own head if he suddenly  
disappears..." he muttered, sticking his hands in his pockets. It was a warm day; the sun was beating down over Domino City, with few clouds in the  
sky.  
  
Yugi sighed, deciding that he was uncomfortably hot, and taking off his  
jacket. Within those few seconds, he felt something, like he had been  
kicked in the head, though there was no-one around, and he passed out.  
  
~  
  
Yami paced up and down the lounge, with Bakura and Ryou sitting and wathing  
him. "Where's Yugi...?" Yami pondered, becoming more frustrated by the  
minute. He was desperate for his aibou to open the door, and greet them  
with a cheery 'Hi!'. "Oi, Pharaoh, stop it!" Bakura complained. "You're making me giddy." Yami sat down where he stood, on the floor, with his arms  
folded.  
  
The door creaked quietly, announcing Yugi's return. Yami's eyes lit up, and  
he attempted to get to his feet, but ended up on his hands and knees. "Yu... Yugi!" he said. "Where have you been?" To his surprise, Yugi did not reply. "Yugi?" Yami got to his knees, as Yugi walked towards him. This put his just shorter than the little teen. He looked up, expecting to see his  
koi's shining amethyst eyes, but his own crimson orbs met with a dull  
purple.  
  
"Pharaoh, you must meet your destiny..." Yugi murmured in a monotone voice. "Prepare for a world of pain." From behind him, he took a pointed daggar. The knife itself was a beautiful, golden object, with silver wires inlaid into the blade, in hieroglyhic patterns, and gemstones adorning the hilt.  
As Yugi raised it, Yami could only look, frozen in terror upon his impending doom. Bakura lunged for the knife, but too late, as Yugi plunged  
it down into Yami's heart.  
  
Yugi's hand slipped from the knife handle, his eyes returning to their usual shade. He blinked twice, surprised, but horror fell across his face  
as he looked at the scene before him. Yami, on his knees, frozen as the blade did it's work. Blood seeped from the wound, staining Yami's clothing a deep red. Yami's eyes glazed over as they slid closed, while their owner  
fell to the ground...  
  
(Pan: I'm leaving it there! I'm so evil! Short, I know, but still...  
hahahahaha! You'll have to read the next chapter...) 


	4. A Broken King

Shadows of Demons  
  
"Yami..." Silver tears spilled out of Yugi's eyes, as he desperately tried to get his darker half to awaken. He pulled the knife out, threw it to the  
side, tears mixing with Yami's blood. Even mentally, as he tried to resurrect the Pharaoh, he found nothing, he was connected to nothing. He  
cried out in frustration and sorrow.  
  
Tears filled even Bakura's eyes as he watched the boy weep over Yami's  
body. But nothing can bring back the dead.  
  
~  
  
You'd be surprised.  
  
Yami awoke to the voice which plagued his dreams. "Not you again..." he muttered, pushing himself up from the floor. Assuming he was asleep again, he stood, and folded his arms. "Just get on with it." he said irritably.  
  
Whatever you say.  
  
The voice sounded sarcastic this time, mocking Yami.  
  
Your pitiful Aibou is crying for you. He thinks you're dead. Not that you  
are, of course, just here.  
  
"And where would here be?" Yami asked.  
  
Limbo. Between Life and Death. Look to your left; what awaits you if you  
return to life. To the right, death.  
  
The voice told Yami.  
  
Yami turned to his right first. It was the scene from his old religion; his heart was being weighed against the Feather. His eyes widened in fear, as the scales tipped, showing his heart was heavy with evil doings. He turned  
away before he watched himself devoured by Amemnet.  
  
Don't like that, do you?  
  
The voice joked.  
  
Turn to your left.  
  
Yami hurriedly looked left, instantly deciding the cheating death was once  
again his best option.  
  
A shadowy, winged figure stood there, smirking at him. The wings were black, and like a bat's, fading out to red. The figure wore black, but only  
one person had a smirk like that, Yami himself. The red eyes and spiked  
hair slowly came into focus.  
  
"Demon..." he murmured.  
  
Yes!  
  
The voice said.  
  
It's Life, Death, or being a disembodied voice in Limbo. Your choice.  
  
Yami only took a second to make his descision. A cursed life with one he loved was better than no life, or being a pathetic voice trying to scare people. He turned, and sprinted towards life, a flash blinding him before  
he emerged into the lounge.  
  
~  
  
It was dark - night-time. He was a little creeped by the fact that his  
blood still stained the floor, though his body was gone.  
  
He felt a sudden pain in his upper left arm. Turning his head to look at  
it, he saw three black symbols burnt into his skin. First, the Egyptian Ankh, symbol of life. Then, his name in Egyptian. Finally, the word 'Demon'  
in Japanese.  
  
Growling deep in his throat, he looked out of the window. The sky was  
clear, stars were shining, but no moon. "It must be new moon..." he decided. As soon as he thought this, a rush of pain flew up his spine like electricity. He stopped himself crying out, but leant forward, resting his  
hands on the windowsill. The pain split into two burning lines at his shoulders. Slowly, he felt the skin split open, and something emerge from  
the two tears. This time, he did yell.  
  
Two black and red wings, like a bat's, came from the rips in his skin,  
glistening slightly with Yami's blood. He heard footsteps above him;  
someone had woken up.  
  
~  
  
Bakura walked quietly across the landing, thankful that Yugi and Ryou were  
very sound sleepers. Silently, he walked down the stairs, and peered through the door into the lounge. Silouetted against the dim light on the  
window, he could see a figure, resting on the sill. Much of him was in  
shadows.  
  
The Millennium Ring glowed with energy, lighting the room. Bakura gasped,  
as Yami turned, eyes glowing a eerie blood red, and the mark of the Millennium Items glowing evilly in red on his forehead. His lips spread,  
revealing pointed fangs, as Yami walked towards Bakura.  
  
"You are the Tomb Robber, Bakura, ne?" Yami said in a dark voice, as he  
stopped in front of Bakura, looking up into the ancient spirit's scared  
face. "O...of course, Yami, don't you remember?" Bakura said, his voice  
shaking. Yami's eyes narrowed.  
  
"You will not reveal this secret?" he said, smirking at Bakura. "If you do, I shall have to kill you. And that might even kill Ryou..." he threatened.  
Bakura shook his head. "Who are you? You're not Yami." he said bravely. Yami flicked golden bangs out of his blood-tainted eyes. "I am Yami. Just a dark little part of him that's been locked away since he was a child. If you must call me something, call me YoukaiYami." he said. "So Yami's still in there?" Bakura said, his eyes widening. "Of course, idiot." Youkai said.  
"But I'm me until daylight."  
  
Bakura walked away from the demon, and closed the curtains. "What are you doing?" Youkai demanded. "Shedding light on the situation." Bakura said,  
flipping the lightswitch. "Iie..." Youkai said. His wings began to disappear into black smoke. "Guess electric light works just as well..." Bakura said. The burning red eye faded from Yami's forehead, with the blood  
in his eyes. He began to fall forward, before Bakura caught him.  
  
"Bakura..." Yami muttered. "Where is Yugi..." "Shh..." Bakura said. "He's safe. Just lay down." Yami lay down on the couch. Bakura turned to go, but Yami grabbed his shirt. He had tears in his eyes. "Don't let me hurt you... if I do, just kill me again... it hurts so bad..." he said, shaking. Bakura looked down at him. "I can get rid of Youkai when he comes. It isn't you. Maybe there is a way to shake this curse." he said gently. Yami closed his  
eyes, trying to stop the tears. His grip tightened on Bakura's shirt. 


	5. Awakening

Shadows of Demons  
  
Pan: I gather some of you didn't quite understand the last chapter. Well,  
here it is in a nutshell:  
  
Yami died, seemingly at the hands of Yugi. He awoke in Limbo, somewhere between Life and Death. A voice spoke to him, explaining about where, and the decision he had to make. He had to choose between Death, where he'd be destroyed (according to his old religion) and Life. However, if he chose Life, it would be a cursed existence, as he had cheated death several times already. Yami chose Life, because he's be with Yugi, then found out what  
the curse was. He had to spend part of his existence as a demon. As a  
demon, he's called YoukaiYami ('youkai' meaning 'demon') and he only becomes a demon in the dark of a moonless night. Bakura figured out how to stop it, by turning the lights on. Yami's back to normal, and that's where  
this chapter picks up.  
  
~  
  
"Yugi..." Bakura poked the sleeping hikari. "Yugi! Wake up!" The boy slept on. "Come on, Yugi, I'm not going to wake you up the way Yami did!" Yugi rolled over, hugging his pillow, and muttering the word 'Yami'. "Dammit." said Bakura, standing up fully. "Yugi, there's someone downstairs to see you, now WAKE UP!" He shouted the last few words, making Yugi jump, and sit  
up. "What, Bakura?" he said, sounding depressed. "There is someone  
downstairs to see you." Bakura repeated. "I suggest you get up." Yugi dragged his unwilling body from his bed. "Who is it?" he asked. "Wait and see. I'm sure you'll cheer up after you see them." Bakura told him, as they walked out the door. "Bakura, nothing could cheer me up right now." Yugi said sadly, walking down the stairs. "They're in the lounge, go on." Bakura  
pushed him forward.  
  
Yugi walked into the lounge alone. "Hello?" he said, confused as he didn't  
see anyone straight away. His eyes wandered, until they alighted upon a figure lying on the couch. Yugi blinked several times, unaware of what he  
was actually seeing.  
  
Yami had fallen asleep on his side, head resting on the arm of the sofa.  
His bangs fell across his eyes, moving ever so slightly as the darker spirit breathed. His legs were stretched out along the entire length of the  
sofa, and his hands rested one by his head, and one by his chest.  
  
"Yami-chan?" Yugi said, surprised. "Yami-chan, is it really you?" The spirit didn't stir, or respond to Yugi's voice. Walking over silently, Yugi knelt down on the floor beside Yami. He ran his fingers up Yami's arm. "You  
really are here... you really are real... but how?"  
  
Yami shivered, curling up into a ball. "Aibou..." He was talking in his  
sleep. "Gomen yo... gomen yo... boku no tameni... gomen yo..." He fell silent in his sleep again. "What's his fault?" Yugi thought. (see bit at  
the bottom) Shrugging the thought away, Yugi leaned on the sofa, still  
sitting on the floor. After a few minutes, he fell asleep.  
  
Bakura peeked through the door. "Isn't the sweet..." he muttered, a little sarcastic. "Pharaoh and Chiisai Ichi. Aww." He turned to go back upstairs.  
"I wonder if Ryou's asleep..."  
  
~~  
  
Yami yawned, slowly awakening to another day. Looking around disorientated, it took him a minute to figure out exactly where he was. He uncurled his  
legs, and sat up. His crimson eyes glistened subdued, in the dim light which filtered through the curtains. He looked down, surprised to see Yugi sitting there, fast asleep. Edging around his slumbering aibou, he resolved not to wake the boy. Instead, he opened one of the curtains, and looked out  
into the greyish-golden dawn light.  
  
"I thought I'd never see this again..." he muttered. He stood for a few  
minutes, allowing his eyes to absorb the majesty of the rising sun.  
  
"Mou hitori no boku?" a voice said behind him. "Kimi wa doko desu ka?" Yami turned to face his aibou. "M-mou hitori n-no ore..." he said gently. Yugi turned quickly, eyes sparkling with tears of happiness. He ran forward, and flung his arms around Yami's waist, sobbing into the dark spirit's shirt.  
"I th-thought I'd l-lost you..." he said between sobs. Yami's eyes softened, as he hugged Yugi back, almost crying himself. "C-can't get rid of me that easily." he said stuttering. "But how come you came back?" Yugi  
looked up into Yami's eyes.  
  
Yami bit his lip, not wishing for Yugi to suffer in the knowledge that he was cursed into being a demon. "Th-they gave me two options, I could die, or come back to life." he said, abbreviating the truth. "I'm glad you came  
back..." The small boy smiled. "Me too..." Yami said back.  
  
'But I don't know if you'll be glad for long...' Yami added in thought.  
  
~~  
  
Pan: Righty-o... Explanations:  
  
"Kimi wa doko desu ka?" = "Where are you?"  
  
Mou hitori no boku = The other me  
  
Mou hitori no ore = the other me  
  
I learnt this from a list of facts about Yu-Gi-Oh! that was on here as a fic a while ago (unfortunately, it was taken down.) While Yugi called Yami  
'Mou hitori no boku', Yami called Yugi 'mou hitori no ore'. They mean exactly the same thing, but the word 'ore' is pretty much Japanese slang for 'me'. 'Boku' is more polite. All of the Yami spirits tended to use a lot of slang (and swear words for that matter) in the original Yu-Gi-Oh!  
  
The line "Gomen yo... gomen yo... boku no tameni..." is taken from a clip of the Japanese show that I have - it's during the Digital Duel Monsters bit, when the fairy thingy gets killed. Yugi holds it in his hands and says  
that line, which means "I'm sorry... I'm sorry... it's my fault" After that, the fairy disappears, and Yugi goes mad. Out comes Yami, and he kicks  
butt for the rest of Digital Duel Monsters. ^-^  
  
Other than that,  
  
Youkai = demon  
  
aibou = partner  
  
I hope this has been enlightening. Using your new peace of mind and calm,  
please click the little purple button below. I only continue if I get  
reviews! Flame me, for all I care, JUST GIVE ME REVIEWS!  
  
Yami: She means, please click the button and review so that she will  
continue. That way, I get out of being cursed sooner.  
  
Pan: YAMI! ^-^ *glomps*  
  
Yami: Pan... get off...  
  
Yugi: Just so you know, here is Pan's list of bishonen, in order of  
favouritism:  
  
Yami  
  
Yugi  
  
Duo Maxwell (Gundam Wing)  
  
Hiwatari Kai (Beyblade)  
  
Heero Yuy (Gundam Wing)  
  
Bakura  
  
Link (Legend of Zelda)  
  
Ryou  
  
Ryou: Why am I at the bottom?  
  
Pan: At least you're on my favourites list! After that comes the people  
that are OK, followed by the people I positively hate.  
  
Ryou: OK.  
  
Pan: Now, everyone, scoot off of my keyboard! I have school tomorrow, and  
it's 23:20 now. I have yet to do my French homework!  
  
*waves to readers* I doubt any of you got this far, but in case you did,  
look out for the next chapter soon! 


	6. Love and Friendship

Shadows of Demons  
  
Pan: Sorry this took me SO long to do! Somebody commented on putting yaoi in, so I had a go at it - this was a good chapter to do so in anyway, coz  
not that much really happens for another month. ^-^ But I will warn you now, this fic isn't going to be terribly 'Anzu-friendly', though it won't be bashing her. I'm trying to decide whether she dies or not... Oh well.  
Let me know what you think of my yaoi; it's only my second attempt at  
writing something like this, and I find it hard.  
  
~  
  
"You didn't tell him, did you?" Bakura asked. Yugi and Ryou had left for  
school, Yugi more reluctantly than usual. "Of course not!" Yami said quickly. "How can I say that to him?! It's not exactly normal..." Bakura  
shrugged. "Our lives have been as un-normal as it gets. Anyway, isn't honesty a big part of a relationship like yours?" he pointed out. "So!?" Yami jumped up angrily and walked towards the window. "You're not in this situation... you can't imagine how it feels to know that there's a demon  
inside you... waiting to hurt your friends, and you can't do anything about it!" His shouts broke down into sobs as he covered his face. "I-I can feel him... I can feel Youkai... he's always fighting me, I'm just weaker  
on a new moon..."  
  
"Yami, it's going to be alright..." Bakura said, trying to console the ex- Pharaoh. "I'm going to try really hard; there's a way to break all curses! I wish Malik was around to help, he knows about ancient magic and that..." Yami nodded softly. "Until such a time as I am free from this, you're going to have to stay with me over a new moon... if Yugi doesn't know, you're the  
only one who can prevent it." he said calmly. "That's going to be  
difficult; I'll need an excuse to stay." Bakura said.  
  
Yami bit his lip. "Y-You're a r-really good friend, Bakura..." he said nervously. Bakura smiled softly. "You're not so bad yourself, Pharaoh. I'm not sure what we've ever had against each other." he said. Yami shrugged. "Whatever is was, it occurred five-thousand years ago; I think we can start again." he smiled back. Subconsciously, he rubbed the top half of his left  
arm, currently covered by his dark blue jacket. Bakura noticed a slight wince on Yami's face as his hand brushed over it. "You alright, Yami?" he asked. Yami sighed, and nodded. "Yes. Just someone decided to make it so that I can't just forget about it." he said, sounding tired. "What do you mean?" Bakura asked, frowning. "You didn't notice?" Yami sounded surprised. He pulled off his jacket, revealing the three black marks etched into his  
skin. Bakura blinked, jumping up and seizing Yami's arm. "Why does this look so familiar..." he asked quietly. "Don't know." Yami pulled his arm out of Bakura's tight grasp. "But I can't let Yugi see it." He pulled his  
jacket back over his shoulders.  
  
~  
  
Yugi spent most of his day staring out of the window. 'How could he come back...?" he thought. 'Not that I'm complaining...' He jumped, noticing a hand waving before his eyes. "Jonouchi?" he said, surprised. "Yeah, it's me. What's up; the bell went ten minutes ago!" the tall blonde smiled. Yugi  
shrugged. "Just thinking." he replied simply. "About...?" Jonouchi prompted. Yugi blushed a deep red. "OH." Jonouchi said, grinning. "Alright  
then." Yugi smiled inwardly, knowing that Jonouchi was the only other  
person he trusted enough to tell about him and Yami.  
  
"Hey! Jonouchi, where are you?" Anzu bounded in. "The others are looking  
for you; they want to play basketball, but need someone else." Jonouchi stood up straight. "OK. You coming, Yuug?" he asked. Yugi shook his head. "No; I'm not tall enough. Neither is Yami for that matter, though I doubt he'd lose." he said cheerfully. Jonouchi nodded. "I'll see you later then."  
He left for the basketball courts.  
  
Anzu sat down next to Yugi. "Hey, I have a favour to ask you..." she said nervously. "You see, my parents are going on a second honeymoon in a month,  
and I need somewhere to stay. Could I...?" Yugi smiled. "Sure. I'll ask  
Yami, but I'm positive he won't mind at all." he replied. "I'll ask him when I get home; he's been a bit strange lately, so he might be asleep."  
Anzu nodded. "Great!" She stood up to go.  
  
'At least I can get closer to Yami...' she thought. 'He's so hot...'  
  
~  
  
"Hi Yami!" Yugi bounded in through the front door. "Hello aibou! How was school?" Yami said from his place in a comfortable chair. He was holding a book on Ancient Egypt and a pen; he loved writing to authors and pointing  
out their mistakes on the subject. "Boring as ever." Yugi said, sitting  
down on the arm of Yami's chair. "Oh, and Anzu needs somewhere to stay  
soon; her parents are going on holiday. I said she could stay here, you don't mind, do you?" he asked. "Of course not!" Yami put down his book and pen. "When does she need to stay over?" He smiled up at Yugi. "In about a month." Yugi grinned. Yami's crimson eyes widened. "A m-month?" he said. "Yes." Yugi said. "I'll go call Anzu." He trotted off towards the phone.  
  
Yami gripped the arms of the chair. 'But in a month all the phases of the moon will be complete; it'll be a new moon again!' he thought rapidly. Yugi reappeared. "Busy signal." he explained, sitting down on Yami's lap. "You OK?" he asked, seeing the strange look on his darker's face. "O-Of course." Yami smiled weakly. "That's alright then." Yugi leaned over and kissed Yami lightly on the lips. Yami blinked in surprise. "Race you upstairs!" Yugi  
said playfully, darting off up the stairs.  
  
"No fair, you got a head start!" Yami complained, running after him. He saw Yugi disappear into his [Yami's] room. "Yugi, get out of there!" he said, walking towards the door and opening it. The room was filled with a very dim light, gently showing the sandy colour of the painted walls. The bed  
was over-large for a single, but not quite big enough to be double. "I  
win!" a cheery voice said from the bed. Yugi was sitting there sweetly. "Now I get my prize!" "Prize?" Yami looked confused. Yugi giggled. "Come  
here!" he said, beckoning the dark spirit towards him.  
  
As soon as Yami was close enough, Yugi pulled him down into a deep, soul- searching kiss. It took a few seconds for Yami to relax into it properly,  
with his eyes closed, and his hands on the bed either side of Yugi to steady himself. Yugi's own arms were wrapped loosely around Yami's neck,  
gently pulling him down.  
  
Yugi carefully pulled away to breathe. Yami grinned at him, deep red eyes sparkling. "You know..." he said coyly. "Second place usually gets a prize  
too..." Yugi nodded. "And it can be whatever you want." he said. Yami's  
face lit up as he stood up straight. "Good... because there's only one  
thing I want." he said. "What would that be?" Yugi asked innocently,  
sitting up. Yami narrowed his eyes slightly. "You..."  
  
~Yaoi warning ^-^~  
  
Yami virtually tackled the boy back onto the bed, ending up half on top of his smaller aibou. Yugi resisted in no way at all, just let himself succumb  
to the ex-Pharaoh; it was Yami's prize after all.  
  
Yami paused. "You don't mind, do you?" he asked, concerned. Yugi shook his head. Yami smiled gently. "Alright then; this is our first time, I wanted to make sure you were ready for it. I want you to enjoy this too." he said  
lovingly, lingering only a second before capturing Yugi's soft lips in another kiss. His slender fingers worked to remove Yugi's uniform jacket and white shirt, leaving him in a tight black sleeveless shirt like Yami's own. As he broke their kiss for a moment, he threw off his own jacket, not caring about the marks on his arm. "I'm glad you made the first move..." Yugi whispered. "I was too nervous to." Yami smiled, slipping the Puzzle off from around his neck and Yugi's. "No need to be nervous now..." Yami replied, kissing him lightly on the lips, before making his way down Yugi neck, each kiss like a little step. "I love you..." "So do I..." said Yugi,  
pulling off his black shirt, and then Yami's.  
  
For a while, Yami just looked at Yugi's ivory skin, the way his chest rose and fell with each breath. Then, he wrapped his arms about Yugi's body, and kissed him intensely, his fingers tracing mysterious patterns on the boy's back. Yugi revelled in the feeling of their closeness, their skin rubbing on each other, sharing each other's warmth. He began to become annoyed by the growing tightness of his pants on his growning member. Yami looked into his eyes, and as if reading Yugi's mind (who said he didn't?), pulled the  
boy's pants and boxers off, whispering "Better?" as he returned to his mission. His hands stroked up and down Yugi's chest, pausing to play with  
his nipples carefully so as not to hurt the boy in any way. He began to  
feel uncomfortable, as leather doesn't stretch much. He growled in his  
throat in annoyance, as he had to stand up to pull his tight pants off.  
  
Yugi didn't mind so much though. It gave him a chance to peruse every inch  
of Yami's perfect body, frowning slightly as he caught a glimpse of the dark marks on his left arm, until the older boy crawled back into bed with him. "You're perfect, you know that?" he asked Yami quietly. "No..." said Yami, hands wandering across Yugi's soft skin. "But that might be because I've been spending my time thinking about how perfect you are." Yugi smiled sweetly, wrapping his arms around Yami, fingers dancing across the tanned  
skin.  
  
Gently, Yami pushed his knee up between Yugi's thighs, parting them. "Just relax, OK?" he said, seeing that Yugi's face showed a little fear. "If you relax, it won't hurt. If you tense up, it'll just be painful, and I don't  
want to hurt you!" Yugi nodded, trying to relax, though not succeeding much. After all, this was the moment he had dreamed of; sharing his body  
with Yami, making love for the first time.  
  
Yami positioned himself carefully at Yugi's entrance, making one last check  
to see if his aibou was really ready for it. Yugi was smiling gently at him, assuring him one last time that he was truly ready. Yami pushed his hips forward gently, felling Yugi wince slightly as he entered the younger  
boy. "Relax, Yugi..." Yami said softly, stroking his aibou's face. He  
continued slowly and gently, until Yugi truly let up his fear, at which point he started going faster, and faster, closing his eyes and giving into the heat of their passion, until both of them fell back on the bed panting.  
  
Yugi snuggled up against Yami, sighing. "Are you alright, aibou?" the exhausted Pharaoh asked. "Yeah... I wasn't too bad, was I?" Yugi replied,  
looking up into Yami's deep crimson eyes. "No! You were... you were..." Yami struggled to find a good word. "Fantastic." he said in the end. "And  
I'll always love you."  
  
"Me too..." Yugi closed his eyes contentedly, and fell asleep.  
  
~ ^-^ over now... ^-^ the little kiddies, who shouldn't be reading this  
because it is a PG-13 that I may put up to R, can come out now. ^-^ ~  
  
Yugi yawned, awakening late at night. "Shouldn't have gone to sleep so early..." he thought, remembering happily back to the day before. He felt a strange lack of warmth next to him, so he sat up, discovering that Yami was not in the room. "Yami-chan?" He quickly pulled some clothes on and left the room. The house was quiet. Yugi's feet made soft padding sounds on the  
carpet as he searched for his koi.  
  
~  
  
Yami leaned on the windowsill in the lounge, grateful that he had only suffered one night this time before the cresent sliver of silver had lit up the night sky. "A new moon every twenty-eight days..." he muttered. "That's about two days a month. Only two... and only under the darkness of a new moon... that's about twenty-four hours, twelve a night." he did the math  
quietly in his head, furrowing his brow. "It's just twenty-four hours. Can't be that hard!" He stood up properly. He turned quickly, hearing soft footsteps behind him. "Yami, what are you doing up?" Yugi asked, rubbing his eyes and smiling. Yami shook his head. "Nothing. I woke up and couldn't  
get back to sleep." "Oh."  
  
~  
  
Pan: O...k... I can't think of anything to write in this chapter now... um... well, nothing more really happens for about a month, so I'll start that next chapter. Goody! At the moment, I've got a lot of GCSE coursework to do, so my updates are getting slower. But today I'm out of school sick.  
Anyways, for my English work, I have to produce a four-page fictional  
story, which uses tension as a narrative device, shows development of  
character AND is well written. In four pages. Crap. 


	7. Yami's Sorrows

Shadows of Demons  
  
Pan: Not very Anzu-friendly now... not bashing her or anything (despite the fact that the only good thing I ever remember her doing is having a go at Kaiba, and she only got to do that because she stopped Yami from winning by  
shouting at Yugi to make him stop... stupid girl...) just not Anzu-  
friendly.  
  
Warning: Anzus were harmed in the making of this fic. And Yami somewhat for  
that matter. Poor guy. I am so evil.  
  
By the way, I upped this fic to an R... heh... and, to the person who wanted more graphic yaoi... I'll do my best, just not this chapter, k? It's amazingly difficult, but I often find shonen-ai and yaoi fics to be better written than others, I don't know what it is. Then again, a lot of other  
types of fics are good. *shrugs* each one to his own, I suppose.  
  
To repeat myself: I'm NOT bashing Anzu in anyway. Just causing her some physical and mental pain. She was the only character who would actually fit this role. Jonouchi and Honda wouldn't react in the same way. By the way, I  
may kill off Anzu... haven't decided yet. What do you think?  
  
~  
  
A month passed uneventfully. Everyone pretty much forgot that Yami had been gone, even if only for a couple of hours. Everyone except Yami himself. As the moon reached it's peak, then gradually began to disappear into nothing, he grew quieter, spending a lot more time shut away in his room. A couple of days before the new moon, the only person he had spoken to was Bakura,  
and not even Yugi had seen the Pharaoh since then.  
  
~  
  
"Yami, you have to be careful. Yugi's getting worried. Worried and suspicious." Bakura warned, sitting in the chair that was next to Yami's  
desk. "I know, I know..." Yami replied from his bed. "It's just... Anzu will come to stay tomorrow. She's staying for an entire week; right across  
the two days when it's a bad idea for anyone to be near me." Bakura  
shrugged. "I don't know what you could do. I would have said you could leave for the two days, but since you agreed to Anzu staying, it would be difficult to explain." he said. "And Ryou will find it peculiar if I come  
stay with you too." Yami got to his feet. "Twenty-four hours over two nights. I can cope. If I'm in my room before it gets dark, I'll be fine,  
because I can leave the lights on. Alright."  
  
~  
  
Yugi opened the door. "Hi Anzu! Come in!" The brown haired girl walked in, carrying a bag with her. "It's great of you to let me stay, Yugi!" she said smiling. At that moment, Yami walked quietly down the stairs. "Yami!" Yugi ran up to his older aibou. "Are you alright? I've been worried." he said.  
"I'm fine." Yami replied quietly. "Hi Anzu." "Ohayo, Yami!" Anzu smiled  
brightly. She frowned slightly when Yami fell silent, and looked at the  
ground.  
  
"Um... come on, Anzu, I'll take you upstairs. Since the spare room is now Yami's room, you can have mine. I'll sleep downstairs." Yugi took her bag,  
and led her up the stairs. Anzu nodded, and trotted after him, saying a  
brief "See you later" to Yami.  
  
/I'll talk to you later, ok?/  
  
//Yes, aibou.//  
  
~  
  
Night soon fell. Yami disappeared into his room as soon as the sun began to sink below the horizon. Yugi didn't ask any questions; if Yami wanted to be  
alone, Yugi knew by now to let him. The boy did, however, begin to grow  
more concerned about the ex-Pharaoh. Yami had never really been this  
secretive towards Yugi; they shared everything, other than that which happened before Yugi knew Yami existed. Questions flew through his troubled mind; what was wrong with Yami? What were the strange marks on his arm? Why would he not speak to Yugi much? The queries overwhelmed Yugi's mind, but they would have to wait until morning, because the one who was asking them  
had fallen fast asleep.  
  
~  
  
Guilt coursed through Yami's mind as he tried to sleep. The lights which he had purposefully left on made the inside of his eyelids glow an annoying orange. But he didn't dare turn them off. Yami turned, attempting to find a  
more comfortable position.  
  
'Why must I keep these secrets from Yugi?'  
  
He screwed his eyes up tighter, pulling the covers up about his head.  
Discovering that this was way too hot, he threw them off, and attempted  
sleeping on his front, rather than his side.  
  
'I don't want to keep secrets. He should be allowed to know.'  
  
Yami sighed, flipping onto his back, as sleeping on his front caused his pillow to threaten to suffocate him. He opened his eyes, spending a few  
dull minutes staring at the ceiling.  
  
'But how do you tell someone so close something like this? That once a  
month, another side of me could try to kill him? I just can't...'  
  
Growling deep in his throat, he snapped his eyes shut, and lay on his side again. Annoying thoughts attempted to keep him awake all night, but they  
would have to wait, because the one thinking them was asleep.  
  
~  
  
Anzu yawned, sitting up. Sighing, she got out of bed, and made a quiet trip towards the bathroom. She paused outside Yami's door. From underneath it, a  
line of light shone, electric light. Anzu frowned, knowing it was very late. She knocked gently on the door. "Yami?" she whispered. There was no reply. She knocked again, slightly louder, but there was still no response. Shrugging, she opened the door slowly. She could see Yami's sleeping form on the bed, and deciding that the ex-Pharaoh had simply forgotten to turn the lights out, she felt for the switch on the wall, and flicked it off,  
closing the door behind her as she returned to her borrowed room.  
  
~  
  
Meanwhile, in Yami's darker room, it's occupant suddenly sat bolt upright  
in bed. His eyes were eerily blank, as a pair of demonic, blood stained wings tore themselves out of Yami's back. He smirked evilly as YoukaiYami's  
blood-tainted eyes took the place of the softer crimson ones, and the darkened Eye of Ra glowed from his forehead. Youkai shifted off of the bed,  
and stretched his arms and wings as he stood up.  
  
"Finally..." he muttered. "One of these mortals was stupid enough to turn out the damned lights." He walked towards the door. "And poor helpless Yami can't do a bloody thing about it." He opened the door, after checking there was no light beyond it. "But who do I go after first? Anzu... that's what Yami is trying to make me NOT do... sorry, oh pathetic lighter one, your  
pleas fall on deaf ears!"  
  
His footsteps sounded softly on the carpeted landing floor. His wings were held tight against his back, so as not to catch anything as he walked. He  
ran his tongue lightly over pointed fangs as he reached Anzu's door,  
turning the door handle and pushing it open without a sound.  
  
The drapes fluttered slightly in the cool night air coming in through the open window. Anzu was curled up between the warm covers on the bed. Youkai laughed quietly. "Sleep seems to award you such an illusion of safety..." he murmured. "Shame when you're not safe from creatures of the night." He  
walked over to, and stood by her bed, looking down onto the slumbering girl. "But I am not incubus, merely a murderer... one who brings pain..." A  
dark knife formed in his hand, like the one that Yugi had used to kill  
Yami. "Goodnight, Anzu..." He raised the knife over her.  
  
He evidently spoke too loudly, as Anzu suddenly awoke, and stared into the dark, glowing eyes for a second, before releasing an mind-piercing scream. His hand slipped, making the blade strike the girl on the arm. Blood seeped  
out of it, staining her night-clothes, as she continued to scream.  
  
"How could I be so foolish..." Youkai muttered, snatching up the knife and fleeing back to Yami's room before Yugi came up to find out what was going on. "Never did I think that Yami would be this useful to me..." he said,  
shutting the door, and flipping the lightswitch.  
  
~  
  
Yami inhaled sharply as the marks in his arm burned. He silently cursed both Youkai and himself, before opening the door again. By this time, Yugi  
was running along the landing, and the light was on.  
  
"Anzu? Anzu, what's wrong?" Yugi ran through the open door. Anzu looked at him with wide, scared eyes. "Anzu?" Yugi walked towards her, flipping the light on. "What happened?" The brunette girl was shaking visibly. "Demon... something evil..." she said. "B-but it l-looked l-like..." Yami cut her off  
by entering the room, and asking "What's going on?" Anzu screamed, and  
delved beneath the covers.  
  
"Yami, did you see or hear anything?" Yugi asked, facing the ex-Pharaoh. "N- not until she screamed... I was asleep..." Yami replied, half-truthfully. Yugi smiled. "Alright then. You can go back to bed if you want." he said.  
Yami shook his head. "No, I won't be able to sleep again now."  
  
Yugi went closer to Anzu. "Anzu-chan, it was only a nightmare... just a bad dream." he said reassuringly. "Come on." Anzu peeked out from her covers. "Then explain my arm!" she said bravely, holding out her arm to show the  
wound. Yugi frowned. "You probably just caught it on something. There's  
been nothing here. If there had been, Yami would have sensed something. Especially if it was evil." he told her. Anzu shook her head. "N-not if it  
was Y-Yami himself..." she said quietly. Yugi frowned. "Don't be silly,  
Anzu, why would Yami want to hurt you?" he said, confused, and glancing behind him. Yami shook his head, telling Yugi that he would not hurt Anzu.  
Which was the truth.  
  
Yugi pulled a few tissues from a box by the bed with which to stop the flow of blood. Yami's eyes wandered around the room, face stony in an attempt to not reveal any guilty expressions. Anzu's eyes were fixed on him the whole  
time.  
  
Tears ran down Anzu's face in her fright and confusion. "I-I'm s-sorry, Yami." she said. "I'm s-so s-silly to think that a d-dream was real." Yami smiled, a little uneasy. "It's OK, Anzu. If you want me in the night, just  
shout. Alright?" he offered. Anzu's tears dried, and she blushed. "Alright." Yugi rolled his eyes, catching up with Yami as he left the room.  
  
~  
  
"You ARE telling the truth, aren't you?" Yugi said, once out of Anzu's  
hearing. "You didn't see, hear or sense anything, right?" Yami cast his eyes downwards. "I did NOT see anything, I did NOT hear anything, I did NOT sense anything, and that I swear by Ra. OK?" he said, emphasising the 'I' in every statement. After all, it wasn't really him. Yugi nodded. "Fine. Good night!" The small boy went off downstairs. Yami went into his room and  
shut the door.  
  
"I'm not lying, Yugi..." he whispered softly. "I'm just not telling you  
everything."  
  
~  
  
Pan: Well? What do you think? If you thought it was awful, let me know, because there's one more night with a new moon this month... heh heh heh... 


	8. Dark at Heart

Shadows of Demons  
  
Pan: I've officially gone insane. Just letting you know.  
  
~  
  
Yugi rested uneasy until morning. His supposedly peaceful sleep was interrupted by visions of demons and other foul creatures of the night. By  
the time dawn came around, he had given up on sleep, and instead was  
reading. The book was a favourite story of his, 'Dawn of Fate'. It's characters all had magical powers, and fought off evil lords and the like.  
Yugi smiled, reading over the hero's final triumph over evil; it always made him think of Yami. This magical spirit who had overcome opposition and  
death so many times... but the Pharaoh's spirit was sinking. Yugi could feel it through their ever-present mind connection. Yami's emotions were hidden, but obvious to his aibou of nearly three years. There was guilt and fear rising in him. Yugi laid back to ponder the matter, shutting his book.  
  
~  
  
Yami watched with impatient eyes as the sun rose. Finally, a pinkish circle blossomed over the horizon, heralding dawn, and safety. Yami quickly gave  
his thanks to Ra that Anzu was near unhurt by the demon within him. He  
walked out of his room, and down the stairs.  
  
"Good morning, koi!" Yami said, finding his aibou in the lounge. "Did you  
sleep well?" Yugi looked up at him, but gently shook his head. "No, not after Anzu woke me up. You?" he sighed. Yami smiled. "Me neither." He sat down next to Yugi and kissed him lightly. Yugi mumbled something like 'I  
love you' incoherently, snuggling up against Yami.  
  
Yami noticed the closed, red-covered book nearby. He picked it up, taking a moment to decipher the text on the front. "'Dawn of Fate'? I've seen you  
reading this book before." he said curiously. Yugi grinned. "It's my favourite. More so than Jonouchi's comic books." he said. Yami looked down  
at Yugi disapprovingly. "I've seen the kind of magazines and books that Jonouchi has. I've also seen that none of them are manga. I would have said something, but it's not my place to, seeing as how we Egyptians had dancing  
girls who wore about as much as the girls in Jonouchi's books." he commented lightly. Yugi blushed. "I don't look at them! And Jonouchi DOES have comic books! He reads them in class!" he protested. "Why would I want to look at girls anyway?!" Yami laughed. "Shh, I was only joking. You'll  
wake Anzu!" he said.  
  
Soft footsteps were heard above them. "Too late, koibito!" Yugi said. "She  
is already awake!" Yami sighed. "You'd better start breakfast then." he said. Yugi smiled. "Yes. No touching the toaster, Yami! I do the cooking  
here, since you blew up the last three toasters I owned." he stated, getting to his feet. It was normal for Yugi to remind Yami of his 'kitchen  
rules' in the mornings, and it was normal for Yami to reply, "Stupid  
things. In Egypt, we made do with fire."  
  
Anzu padded down the stairs in her night-dress. "Ohayo Yugi-kun, Yami-kun!"  
she said sleepily. "Ohayo, Anzu-san." Yami replied. "How are you this  
morning?" Anzu smiled weakly. "Better, after that scare last night. I'm  
sorry I was so silly." she apologised.  
  
"It's alright!" Yugi said brightly. "I'm just about to do breakfast, ok?" Anzu nodded. Yugi happily trotted into the kitchen. Anzu sat down next to Yami. Yami opened up Yugi's book and started reading. About halfway down  
the page he paused, frowning as he attempted to figure out one of the  
words. Giving up after a few minutes, he held the page open for Anzu to  
see. "Anzu, what does this say?" he asked, pointing to the character in  
question. Anzu shifted closer to Yami to look. "That's the kanji for  
'youkai'." she said. "Demon." Yami nodded uneasily. "Thanks..."  
  
There was an awkward silence. After a minutes or so, Anzu spoke up. "So you're still learning to read?" she asked. Yami looked up at her. "Learning to read Japanese. I can read Egyptian fine, so I'm not actually learning to  
read. But I can guess at anything it says on a card because of the  
pictures; they're the same as the original ones." he commented. Anzu  
nodded, moving slightly closer on the pretence of seeing what Yami was  
actually reading. "'Dawn of Fate'? That's one of Yugi's books, ne?" she said. Yami nodded, flicking one of his golden bangs out of his eyes. Anzu's sapphire-blue eyes were fixated on Yami's face, daydreaming. "Yami..." she murmured quietly. "Nan desu ka?" Yami asked, ruby eyes still scanning the  
page methodically. ("What is it?") Anzu went straight forward with her  
question.  
  
"Did you ever love anyone?" she said dreamily. Yami opened his mouth to answer, then paused. He lowered the book, and looked at Anzu, catching the  
emotion in her eyes before she erased it, sitting up straight, and blushing. "If it's not being too nosy..." Yami sighed. "It's not. Yes, I did, and still DO love someone, ok?" he said, somewhat uneasily, having an idea where Anzu was going with this. An idea formulated in his mind, and he  
started reading again to hide the smirk on his face.  
  
"Oh?" Anzu said curiously. "What's her name?" Yami coughed to keep himself from laughing. "Ano..." he murmured. 'Come on, any time now...' he thought  
rapidly. As if on cue, there was the sound of smashing glass, and Yugi entered the room. "Yami-kun..." he said carefully. "Can you help me? There was a slight accident with the milk bottle." Yami nodded, getting to his feet. "Sure..." When he got to Yugi, he kissed the boy lightly on the fore head. "... koi." Smirking as if he had just won some game, he went to do Yugi's task. Yugi looked bewildered, then shrugged, and returned to making  
breakfast.  
  
"Nani?!" Anzu exclaimed, eyes widening. "Not a her? A HIM?!"  
  
There was the sound of stifled giggles from the kitchen, as Yami had quietly told Yugi exactly what had just happened. Of course, Anzu didn't know this. She screwed up her nose, somewhat hentai images flowing through  
her mind, before getting up, and rushing up the stairs.  
  
~  
  
"Yami, you are really evil when you want to make a point!" Yugi said,  
hitting the ex-Pharaoh lightly on the arm. Yami winced slightly, Yugi having hit just where the burning black marks still hurt his arm. "No..." Yami said. "I'm just creative in the ways in which I tell people things.  
Makes life more interesting." Yugi laughed. "And I suppose, at close-on  
five-thousand-and-eighteen, you need to keep life as interesting as possible." he commented, pushing the lever on the toaster down, and turning to wait for it. Yami swept up the last of the glass shards, and mopped up  
the last of the milk, before sitting down on the table. "Please. Five- thousand years in a tiny, dark, cold, frankly annoying puzzle hardly counts towards my age. I didn't grow older, so I'm still only seventeen-nearly- eighteen. And you are sixteen-nearly-seventeen." Yami said, looking at the golden Puzzle which still hung about his neck. "And Anzu is sixteen-nearly-  
seriously-disturbed by your point-making." Yugi added, staring at the toaster as if it would make it work faster. "And don't you dare say that fire is better than a toaster." Yami sniffed. "Doesn't take as long." he  
said.  
  
Yugi looked away from the toaster, and went over to Yami. "But a toaster  
gives you longer to do this..." he said, gently pulling on the Puzzle's  
chain so that Yami had to lean forward. When he was close enough, Yugi  
reached up and kissed Yami gently on the lips. One of the spirit's arms slid down Yugi's back, pulling the boy closer, and deepening the kiss. They didn't break apart until the toaster announced the completetion of its task  
Yugi sighed, returning to making breakfast.  
  
~  
  
As Anzu aided Yugi with the washing up, Yami slipped out of the room, and towards the phone. He bit his lip, knowing he was risking Yugi overhearing. While he heard Anzu and Yugi chatting, he quickly dialed Ryou's number. 'I hope Bakura answers...' He listened to the rings down the phone. It rang  
about four times, until it clicked, as someone picked up.  
  
"Moshi moshi!" It was Ryou's bright, chirpy voice. Yami sighed. "Moshi moshi, Ryou. It's Yami; is Bakura there?" he said. There was a pause. "Hai, Yami, he's here. Do you want to speak to him?" Ryou asked. "Yes, please."  
Yami said witheringly. "OK!" The voice went silent, then fainter voices  
were heard.  
  
"Hey, Bakura! Yami's on the phone! Wants to talk to you!" There were loud footsteps, as if Bakura had run down the stairs. "Yami; Yugi's fine, you're  
fine, Anzu's fine, right?" he said hurriedly. "Only just..." Yami said  
quietly. "Youkai nearly got Anzu last night... I can't risk being alone again." There was a gasp. "Oh dear... maybe I can convice Ryou into coming  
over with me... I don't know..." Bakura's voice grew more worried. "Anything, please! It doesn't have to be until nightfall; just get here!  
I've got to go!" Yami dropped the phone as Yugi's chatter stopped.  
  
"Who were you talking to?" Yugi asked. Yami shrugged off the remark.  
"Bakura. He's still trying to find out why Malik has disappeared." Yugi  
nodded lightly. "Of course, they were good friends." He paused. "Anzu's  
going shopping today, so we're alone, unless you want to go out." Yami  
smiled weakly. "I'm a bit tired, Yugi. I might just go back to bed." he said. Yugi looked puzzled. "Are you alright?" Yami nodded. "Of course; I just didn't manage to get back to sleep after Anzu woke us up, that's all." Yugi beamed brightly. "OK then, you rest." He kissed Yami lightly on the cheek, possible now as he was catching up with Yami in height. "I'll go out for a bit, I think. You don't mind?" he said. "Of course not." He turned to  
go up the stairs. "See you later." "Yeah. See ya, koi!" With that, Yugi practically bounced out the door. Yami sighed, and walked up the stairs and  
into his room.  
  
~  
  
Yami flopped down onto his bed, unable to do anything else. "I won't let  
this get to me..." he muttered. "No-one will be hurt. Youkai will NOT  
control me!" The doorbell rang. Growling in annoyance, Yami got up, and  
went to answer the door.  
  
"Bakura..." Yami said, on finding the white-haired tomb robber beyong the door. "Yeah, don't look so disbelieving. Can I come in?" Bakura said. Yami  
nodded, and allowed him in, shutting the door behind him.  
  
"Right; let's get straight to the point. I've been doing some research - would you believe that some people still believe in Ancient Egyptian magic? - anyway there's only one way to break your curse." Bakura informed Yami, sitting down on the sofa. Yami sat opposite him with eager eyes. "But you  
won't like it." the tomb robber added. Yami fixed him with his crimson  
glare. "I don't care! Anything to break this curse!"  
  
Bakura sighed. "You have to..."  
  
~  
  
Pan: HAHAHAHAHA! 


	9. A Demon's Destiny

Shadows of Demons  
  
Pan: Want to find out what Yami has to do? Heh heh heh... I'm so evil!  
  
~  
  
Bakura sighed. "You have to..." Yami looked at him eagerly. "Yes?" Bakura  
bit his lip, hesitating.  
  
"You have to let Youkai consume the blood of a mortal." Bakura said finally. Yami's eyes widened in shock. His mouth opened, but was unable to  
speak. There were many minutes of silence, and the Pharaoh let this information register in his mind. "Th-the blood of a mortal?" he repeated.  
Bakura nodded sadly. "There is no other way. It needn't be anyone in particular, but the mortal must be killed to get the blood. And it must be  
human." he added. "I-I can't do that! I can't kill for myself! It's not  
right..." Yami said, getting to his feet.  
  
"It won't be you, it'll be Youkai." Bakura pointed out. "But what if he goes after Yugi?" Yami asked. "I'm his guardian - I can't let anything bad happen to him!" Bakura smiled weakly. "You're much more than his guardian,  
Yami, we all know that." he said. Yami covered his face with his hands. "All the more reason why I must protect him!" he said, voice sounding as if he was on the brink of tears. "There will be one other mortal in this house  
this evening." Bakura said.  
  
"Anzu? Yugi would never forgive me..." Yami looked at Bakura though his fingers. "But I will be here. You forget; I can use Duel Monsters cards in this realm, and there are many revival cards." the Ring Spirit said. "It's not right." Yami argued. Bakura shrugged. "Whatever will be, will be." he  
said. "If destiny leads to Anzu's demise, it cannot be helped."  
  
"I've changed my destiny many a time!" Yami half-yelled back. "That's why  
I'm here!" Bakura sighed, leaning back. "But do you believe that?" he  
asked. "That you've changed your destiny? It wasn't your destiny in the first place to be here, now, with Yugi?" Yami fell silent, lost for words.  
Bakura nodded. "When tonight comes around, you'll let Youkai out. And  
destiny will take it's course." he said, with a commanding tone in his  
voice. Yami sank into one of the chairs. "Yes." he said sadly. "And Ra  
forgive me for what I may do."  
  
~  
  
"Hey! Yami-koibito, I'm back!" Yugi said closing the front door behind him. Yami came out of the lounge to greet him. "Konnichi wa, koi." he said. Yugi  
ran up and hugged Yami tightly. "You're looking so much better." the smaller boy said, smiling brightly. Yami nodded. "I feel it. Bakura just  
came round; Ryou's not feeling well, so he sent Bakura away so that he didn't get it." he said. Yugi blinked cutely. "Oh? Alright then. This house is becoming a hotel!" he said. "You don't mind?" Yami asked. Yugi shook his head. "Of course not. Just need to find somewhere to put him, that's all." "We'll see to that later." Yami said, kissing Yugi on the forehead. Yugi  
blushed.  
  
~  
  
Anzu returned just before dinner, laden down with bags from various shops  
throughout town. "Konbanwa..." she said, slumping down in the sofa, exhausted. "Hiya, Anzu! Just so you know, Ryou's ill so Bakura's staying  
over tonight." Yugi said happily, having just put something into the microwave. He turned to face the two ancient spirits in the kitchen behind him, washing up. Well, Bakura was washing, Yami was drying. "Now, I know Yami knows this, and Ryou probably tells you too, Bakura, but I'll say it  
again. DON'T TOUCH THE MICROWAVE!" Yugi said sharply.  
  
Yami rolled his eyes. "He also tells me not to mess with the toaster in the mornings." he said after Yugi had gone to talk to Anzu. "Yami, a) I heard that b) it applies to you too, Bakura!" Yugi's voice called. Yami laughed  
softly. "Ryou's just like that. After saving their lives on multiple occasions, you would have thought they'd trust us more." Bakura commented. "When did You SAVE Ryou's life?" Yami asked surprised. There was a moment  
of silence. "Well, it applies to you more than me..." Bakura said.  
  
"Yes." Yami's short answer came. Bakura pulled his hands from the soapy water. "Bubbles" he muttered, flicking them at the Pharaoh. "Hey!" Yami  
said, putting down the plate he was holding, and looking annoyed at the  
white foam streaked across his black outfit. "You'll pay for that, tomb  
robber!" he smirked, picking up a handful of bubbles, and throwing them back at Bakura. And so it continued, until Yami decided that the only way  
for him to win was to pick up the whole bowl of soapy water, and tip it  
over Bakura's head. Which is exactly what he did. A look of shock was frozen on Bakura's face as the water cascaded over him, drenching him from head to foot. His white hair hung limp, and almost straight, dripping onto  
the floor.  
  
"That's IT!" Yugi cried returning to the room. "NEITHER of you two are allowed in the kitchen!" He pushed both of them out, and sent Bakura to dry off. The tomb robber sneezed, while his clothes and hair dripped onto the floor. Yami fell on the floor laughing loudly. Anzu seemed most bemused,  
but that might be something to do with her altered view of Yami.  
  
~  
  
It was soon decided that it was most convenient to let Bakura sleep in Yami's room, since Anzu was in Yugi's room. Yugi was perfectly happy with this; he would have stayed with Yami himself, but as Yami's room was right  
next to Anzu's, and judging by what usually happened when Yugi was in  
Yami's room, it wasn't a good idea.  
  
~  
  
Yami watched the sun sink below the line of the horizon from his bedroom  
window. The lights were on in his room, and Bakura was standing by the door. "You're sure about this?" Yami asked, turning from the window. "The  
sun's gone, it's officially night now." Bakura nodded. "I am completely  
sure about this." he said. Yami sighed, turning back to the window.  
"There's no turning back once you switch those lights out." he said. "I know." said Bakura. Yami drew the curtains across the window. "Leave it a  
while, that way we can be sure they're both asleep." he said, going and sitting on his bed. "Meanwhile, I'm actually going to go to sleep myself."  
He laid back against the pillows. "Why?" Bakura asked, puzzled. Yami laughed softly. "Think. Youkai's wings rip out of my shoulders. That's VERY painful. Not to mention the forceful oppression of my consciousness." he explained. Bakura grinned a little. "I'll put you to sleep later." he said.  
"Magically." he added quickly. For a few hours, the two sat in silence,  
thinking over what was to happen that night, how much could go wrong...  
  
~  
  
Yami sat up. "Alright." he closed his eyes softly. Anzu was in bed, and  
Yugi was lying on the sofa. Both were fast asleep.  
  
The orange light of the streetlamp outside illuminated Yami's curtain. Bakura knew what he was to do - try and bring through a little of Yami's spirit, so that Youkai wouldn't go after Yugi, before the demon was allowed to leave the room. A hard task, while Yami's was harder, trying to force  
his way out.  
  
"Come on then." Yami said finally, with an attempted brave tone, though it  
was shaky. Bakura looked towards him. "Fine. Lay back." The tomb robber walked over to the bedside. "When you wake up, this should be over." Yami  
nodded, resting his head on the pillows. "And may Ra forgive me." he murmured, closing his eyes. Bakura's Millennium Ring began to glow, gently lowering Yami into a deep sleep. The Pharaoh slept almost silently, except  
for the faint sound of his breathing. Bakura walked towards the  
lightswitch.  
  
He took a deep breath, and flipped it. The room was submerged into complete and utter darkness, for a few moments, before a red glow began to form on Yami's forehead. His body sat up like some puppet, eyes half-opening with a blank stare. Two red-and-black wings pulled themselves from his shoulders, as Yami looked up, blood red Sennen-Eye symbol glowing on his forehead, and  
an evil smirk painted on his face. He climbed off of the bed.  
  
"Out of the way, tomb robber." Youkai muttered. Bakura's Ring glowed again. "I think not, at least not yet." he said. "Don't come any closer." "And why  
not?" Youkai sneered, staying exactly where he was. "Because my hand is over the light switch." Bakura told him. "If you come closer, I'll flip it, and you'll instantly become Yami again." Youkai growled deep in his throat. The Ring glowed brighter. 'Come on, Yami, come on...' he thought rapidly.  
  
At that moment, the red Sennen-Eye faded long enough for Yami's true voice to call 'Bakura!' before Youkai regained control. The Ring stopped glowing. "Not so great are you?" Youkai laughed, before darting closer to Bakura and  
throwing him aside. Opening the door, the demon stepped out onto the landing. "No-one escapes from me..." he muttered, turning towards Anzu's room. Bakura got up and followed him, rubbing sore patches where bruises  
would soon form.  
  
Youkai smirked, looking over Anzu's sleeping form. "Your sleep will be eternal soon, Anzu... best not to wake..." he murmured, moving towards her. Bakura flipped through his deck, searching for a revival card. He came upon  
Raise Dead (Monster Reborn) and held it ready in his hand.  
  
A pointed black dagger appeared in Youkai's hand. The inlaid silver  
glistened eerily in some unknown light, revealing the winding Egyptian  
patterns in the blade. He positioned it carefully over Anzu's heart, lifting it back to make the fatal blow. Even Bakura shut his eyes, as in one powerful, fluid movement, the blade rushed downwards and pierced the  
girl's heart. Sapphire eyes snapped open suddenly, and she let out a  
strangled yell, blood rushing forth from the deadly wound. Youkai  
straightened up sneering.  
  
"YUGI, IIE!" Bakura's voice shouted as the short hikari rushed past him  
once again answering the screams of Anzu. Youkai turned, eyes widened. Yugi's hand clapped over the switch, sending bright white light straight  
into Youkai's eyes. The young light looked on Youkai in terror, quickly  
changing to disbelief, as the demon raised his arms to shield his eyes, dark wings dissolving into nothingness. Yami fell forward, still spellbound asleep. The marks in his left arm glowed momentarily, but it subsided. Yugi was frozen, looking in on the scene. Anzu's dead, bleeding body was lying on the bed, and Yami was here, and had seemingly murdered her. And Bakura here had done nothing. Yugi fell backwards, eyes rolling back in his head in a dead faint. A crystalline tear trickled from the corner of his eye.  
  
~  
  
Ruby coloured eyes fluttered open. Yami sat up, looking around the room. He was in his own bed, and bright noon-daylight streamed through a crack in the curtains. He threw the covers off of himself, and walked towards the  
door. He could hear voices though it.  
  
"Yugi, stop, you don't understand!" Bakura called, and the sound of hurried footsteps thumped on the stairs. "I understand perfectly! He killed Anzu!" Yugi voice yelled back, from just beyond the door. "Yugi, please..." Bakura  
said.  
  
Yami stepped away from the door, just in time for it NOT to hit him, as his angry aibou threw it open. "Yami!" Yugi shouted, voice echoing with anger  
Yami had never heard before. "I know you didn't like her; but surely it wasn't that bad!" the boy continued. "She was my friend, Yami! Even if YOU didn't like her, it's no reason to become a murderer!" "Yugi, please, let  
me explain!" Yami said, tears forming in his eyes. "There's nothing to explain!" Yugi yelled. He pulled the Puzzle from around his neck. Yami's  
eyes widened, wet streaks gliding down his face. "Please..." he said, choked by sobs. Yugi dropped the Puzzle to the floor, where it shattered.  
Yami looked down as his physical form began to fade. "Goodbye, Yami..."  
Yugi said, turning away.  
  
"Demo... aishiteru, Yugi!" Yami's panicked voice faded with his body, and  
he was gone. 


	10. Alone

Shadows of Demons  
  
"Yugi, please think about this, you're the only one who can put the Puzzle  
together!" Bakura said, rushing after Yugi, holding the golden Puzzle  
pieces in his hands. "You're condemning Yami to darkness forever!" Yugi span around. "He deserves it! He deserves after what he did to my friend." he spat at Bakura. "You were there, and you did NOTHING!" The tomb robber paused. "Fine. You would understand if it were explained to you, but you let me, and now you've trapped Yami again. In my opinion, what you've done is worse than what Yami did; he was doing it for you. When you decide to be  
human again, put the Puzzle together, and call me." Bakura dropped the pieces to the floor. "Unfortunately, whatever that blade was, it stops me from using magic to revive her. Something I hadn't foreseen." He folded his arms, speaking quietly. "Please remember his last words, Yugi." The tomb robber gestured at the shards of gold on the floor, and turned to leave.  
  
Left alone again, Yugi broke down into tears, gathering up the golden  
pieces and putting them away where he couldn't see them.  
  
~  
  
Yami sighed, staring at the floor he was sitting on. A slight light came  
from somewhere, but the only thing he could be totally sure of was the floor. It was polished to a mirror-like quality, and in it, he could see his reflection. But the mirrored image was broken, as if it was a picture painted on a smashed glass panel. He drew his eyes away from the floor, and  
looked up.  
  
"Yugi... if only... if only..." He buried his face in his arms, and cried,  
salty tears dripping onto the floor.  
  
~  
  
Hurriedly, Yugi tipped the pieces of the Puzzle out onto the floor, unable to bear being alone any longer. His mind formulated other reasons why what  
had happened had happened, until he found an explanation he liked.  
  
'It wasn't Yami. Yami doesn't have wings.' The thought lifted his heart; his love wasn't a murderer. Now, came the task of putting the pieces back together - an easier task than the first time now. "Gomen yo, gomen yo..."  
he muttered over and over, slotting the golden fragments back together.  
  
~  
  
Yami's attention turned back to the shattered reflection. Pieces of it were  
beginning to join back together, making the form whole again.  
  
"Yugi!" he called, trying to get to his feet. "Yugi, I'm sorry, please,  
please forgive me!" Tears continued to run down his face.  
  
~  
  
Yugi suddenly noticed that his hands were wet. The half-completed Puzzle  
in his hands had droplets of water gliding over the cool metal surface,  
like each piece was crying. On closer examination, and on tasting the water, Yugi found that it was indeed the bitter, salty liquid of tears. His  
pace quickened, golden pieces slipping from his damp hands every few seconds. Despite all, he fitted the last piece with a triumphant look on  
his face.  
  
He frowned as his darker half didn't appear. He checked the Puzzle, but  
everything was in it's right place. What was wrong?  
  
A faint, sobbing noise flowed through Yugi's mind. He laughed out loud.  
"Are you telling me that you're afraid to let me see you cry?" he asked  
aloud. "Silly Yami."  
  
"I'm not crying..." Yami said quietly, appearing next to Yugi, looking at his feet. Yugi turned, and despite the golden bangs which hid Yami's face, he could see that the Pharaoh was lying; tears were indeed running over his  
cheeks, and dripping onto the carpeted floor. Yugi smiled, happy tears  
streaking over his own cheeks.  
  
In a single, swift movement, he wrapped his arms around the older boy, and  
gently pressed his lips to Yami's own. Yami hesitated a moment, then returned the kiss, raising his hand to caress Yugi's wet cheek, and letting Yugi, for once, dominate him, almost a silent apology. He opened his mouth slightly for Yugi to enter, but the younger boy paused, surprised at what Yami was allowing him to do. Only a moment's hesitation, before he gave in,  
and deepened their kiss, tightening his arms about Yami until they both  
needed to breathe.  
  
Yugi sighed deeply, his tears drying now. Both boys said nothing, just looked at each other. In Yami's eyes, Yugi could see regret, and sadness, and happiness, and want, and love, all mixed into the deep crimson pools.  
In Yugi's, Yami saw the same emotions, but there was confusion in there  
too. Taking charge again, the older boy decided that explanations could  
wait until later, and he captured Yugi's soft lips again. Despite only being apart for an hour or two at most, it seemed like an eternity to them.  
  
For another eternity, their spirits stayed intertwined, until Yugi rested his head against Yami's chest, exhausted. "Aishiteru..." he murmured. Yami smiled gently. "Aishiteru, koibito." He smiled even wider, when he saw that Yugi was sleeping angelically, using Yami as a pillow. He lay down on the  
floor, careful not to disturb Yugi, and fell asleep himself.  
  
~  
  
"Aw, isn't that sweet..." Ryou said, looking through the front window at the scene. "Come on, Ryou..." Bakura used the key that Yami had lent him to open the front door. "We're going to have to disturb the cute little scene.  
Just stand well back, in case Yami gets mad."  
  
"You SO need to work on your entrances, tomb robber." Yami commented from  
the other room. "You woke me up. Excuse me not coming to greet you, but  
I've got someone else on top of me." Bakura laughed, walking into the lounge. "He decided to put you back together, then?" he commented, looking  
at Yugi. Yami smiled. "Yes, but he kinda fell asleep before he asked  
anything." Yami said, smirking. "I can only imagine why..." Ryou said  
quietly.  
  
Yami sighed in relief, as Yugi yawned, and changed position so that he was  
no longer on top of the dark spirit. "Bakura, pass me one of those blankets." he said. Bakura obliged, passing Yami a blanket that Yugi had been using while he slept on the sofa. The Pharaoh wrapped it around his little aibou, then turned to Ryou and Bakura. "I'm assuming you didn't just stop by to say 'hello'?" he asked. Bakura nodded. "Duh. Ryou could probably do with filling in, as well as Yugi." he commented. Yami laughed quietly. "I'm not explaining it twice; you'll have to wait for Yugi to wake up." he  
said.  
  
"Of course..." Bakura said. "But... Anzu couldn't be revived." Yami looked up sharply. "What? But... why not...?" Bakura sighed sadly. "Something in that knife stopped me from using magic. She's dead, and you're not free."  
  
"Yami..." Yugi murmured in his sleep, rolling over. Yami rolled his eyes. "I suggest you wake him up, Pharaoh." Bakura said. "We can't wait all day."  
Yami knelt beside his aibou. "OK, ok. Any way in particular?" he asked,  
smirking. Ryou giggled. "You know of one sure fire way." he said. Yami  
blushed. "Not in front of you two!" he said indigantly. Bakura laughed. "Hey, you watched us on that early morning a month ago!" he pointed out. "Yes, but with me and Yugi, it tends to take much longer than any other way  
of waking him up." Yami said. "That I do believe. You were always too passionate about silly things, Yami." Bakura said. Yami's cheeks matched the colour of his eyes. "Don't you DARE say anything about that in front of  
Yugi!" he said fiercely.  
  
"About what?" Ryou asked innocently. Bakura laughed. "Since Yami wants to keep it a secret... here you go. In Ancient Egypt..." His voice was cut off as Yami jumped up and clapped is hand over Bakura's mouth. "Silence, tomb  
robber..." he growled. "Fine, fine." Bakura's muffled voice came. "Just wake your aibou up!" Yami removed his hand slowly, making sure that Bakura  
wouldn't speak again. He turned, and went back to Yugi.  
  
"Yugi... Yugi, wake up..." he shook his aibou's shoulder gently. Yami  
sighed at Yugi's refusal to awake. "Come on, Yami, it's no big deal!" Bakura said. "Remember, me and Ryou have seen it, and done it all before."  
Yami sighed in defeat. Trailing one hand gently across Yugi's cheek, he lent in, and kissed the boy gently on the lips. Yugi whimpered slightly, still asleep, as Yami pulled away. He curled up into a tight little ball. Yami made an annoyed noise, and attempted to uncurl his young light. When Yugi's face was finally in view, the Pharaoh tried kissing the boy again, still to no avail. Beginning to get angry, he lent into Yugi again, running his tongue across the boy's lower lip, demanding entrance. Yugi gave in, like a reflex, opening his mouth just wide enough to allow Yami in. As Yami shut his eyes, and kissed his koi passionately, giggling ran through the back of his mind. Neither Bakura nor Ryou; it was Yugi, and he, Yami, the  
master duelist, had just fallen for a huge trap.  
  
"Yugi!" Yami said irritated, sitting up again. The smaller boy sat up, laughing loudly. Ryou looked confused. "What's so funny?" he asked. Yami sighed, turning around. "He was awake the whole time, just waiting for me." he explained, as Yugi continued to laugh. "Ryou's done that before." Bakura said, struggling not to laugh himself. Yugi stopped laughing with a sigh.  
  
"Now, Yami, you can't put it off any longer. Start explaining." Bakura  
said. 


	11. Let Me Explain

Shadows of Demons  
  
Pan: IT'S TWO DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS! WOOHOO! Your Christmas present is two  
updates at once!  
  
Yami: Why are you so happy?  
  
Pan: My birthday's on Christmas Day. And Christmas is fun anyways!  
  
Yugi: Pan, I don't think Yami actually knows what Christmas is, since he's  
Egyptian, and now lives in Japan.  
  
Pan: The Japanese celebrate Christmas. Only it's more like Valentine's Day.  
Ooh... ideas, ideas.  
  
Yami: Shut it, Pan. I've read that other story of yours!  
  
Pan: Which one, I have plenty.  
  
Yami: 'A Little Winter Miracle'.  
  
Pan: What's wrong with that? It's my nice little seasonal story that I  
wrote because I'm bored.  
  
Yugi: Pan, just post the chapter.  
  
Pan: Of course, you like this chapter, ne?  
  
Yugi: *blushes*  
  
Pan: HAHAHAHA! Just to warn you, I've gone insane again, and wrote another  
yaoi. I can only write yaoi when I'm insane.  
  
Yami: Good for you, dear...  
  
Pan: Heh heh heh. Good for you too.  
  
Yami: There's always that.  
  
Pan: Anyway, the point of all this is that there won't be any more updates  
until after Christmas (unless I go insane again.)  
  
Yami: You're always insane.  
  
Pan: Shut it. So, from me, Yugi, Yami, Ryou, Bakura, any other person that I've written, and the strange little peoples that live in my imagination:  
  
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!  
  
Or, Happy Holidays if you're not of the Christian faith.  
  
~  
  
"Well, it all began a month ago, that night we were all here. I kept having these nightmares; something telling me that my destiny would soon be upon  
me. But you know what happened that night. Yugi came home, possessed by something or other, and killed me." Here Yami paused. Yugi was looking very  
red. "It's ok, aibou, I forgive you." He wrapped his arms around Yugi.  
  
"Well, after that happened, I don't know what you did. But I woke up in a weird place, and this strange voice told me I was in Limbo. It told me that  
I could choose between Life or Death, and it could give me a glimpse of both. Looking into my death... it was what all Egyptians feared. But life was cursed; I could see a demonic figure, me. I chose Life so that I could be with Yugi, but my payment is, that during the two nights of the new moon in each month, I would assume another personality and form - a demon in the shape of YoukaiYami. Youkai is very dangerous - he kills, injures, anything because he feels like it. The only thing that can stop him is light. Hence, I leave all the electric lights in my room on overnight. Two nights ago, someone must have come into my room, and turned them off; Youkai went and hurt Anzu. Last night, our - that is to say, mine and Bakura's - plan was to let him out, and see what he would do, resulting in Anzu's death. That's  
about it."  
  
It took a minute for this information to filter thought Yugi and Ryou's brains. The person they trusted most couldn't always be trusted. After an awkward silence, Yugi spoke up. "I love you anyway." he said. Yami looked down at him, surprised. "You don't mind?!" he asked, shocked. Yugi shook  
his head. "It's not you doing those things. You're my Yami, Youkai is someone who controls you." He hugged Yami tightly. "But why didn't you tell me sooner? I would have helped you, you know that." Yami returned the hug.  
"I was afraid of how you'd react to something like this." he explained. Yugi giggled. "Just like you were afraid to let me see you cry." he said.  
  
"As I get to know you more, Yami," Bakura said. "I begin to find more and more things that you are afraid of." "We're all afraid of something." Yami replied. "Maybe you'll find that too someday." Bakura smiled. "I am afraid  
of a lot, just I keep it more hidden than you do, Pharaoh." he said  
quietly.  
  
~  
  
"Hey, we'd better get going." Bakura said, getting up. "Come on, Ryou." Yami stood up to see them out. "See you around." he said calmly. "At least there's no new moon tonight." Bakura nodded. "Yes. I'll keep trying for a  
way to get you normal again. Ishizu is also getting me to help look for Marik - we've no idea where he's gone! We'll be seeing you." He and Ryou  
left, and Yami shut the door behind them.  
  
"Yami! Dinner!" Yugi called from the kitchen. Yami smiled gently, walking into the kitchen. Yugi sat down, and began to eat his dinner. Yami quickly  
joined him, remembering that he hadn't eaten all day.  
  
In the ten or fifteen minutes it took for them to eat their food, neither  
boy said much. Yami was too hungry, and Yugi was, well, being Yugi. Eventually, Yami sighed and got up to help clear the table. Yugi eyed the  
clock on the wall, 18:00, and made a very Yami-like smirk to himself.  
  
He yawned theatrically. "I'm really tired, Yami..." he said. Yami frowned,  
drying his soapy hands on a towel, as he had been washing up. "Are you alright, Yugi? It's rather early isn't it?" he asked, concerned. "I just  
need more rest. I've been up late the previous two nights, and my eight hours of unconsciousness weren't that restful." Yugi explained. "But... do you mind me sharing your room? Anzu's... yeah... ew... is all over mine, and I'd rather not sleep downstairs." he asked. Yami looked confused, but  
answered. "Of course you can share my room." Yugi smiled, kissed him  
quickly, and trotted off to bed. "Good night, Yami."  
  
After half-an-hour of watching TV, Yami decided it was no fun alone, and so, went to bed himself. He smiled, seeing Yugi curled up beneath his own covers, sleeping soundly. Yami looked out the window, checking that there really was a moon in the sky, before drawing the curtains and undressing. Yawning slightly, he slipped into bed next to Yugi, and closed his eyes to  
sleep.  
  
~  
  
A few minutes later, Yami dozed on the edge of sleep, but still awake. He was unaware of anything else, until a funny sensation tickled the side of his neck. Then, he became suddenly aware of a strange weight resting on one of his arms. He opened his eyes, and saw a pair of amethyst eyes right in front of his own ruby ones, haloed by golden bangs. "Good, you're awake..." Yugi said quietly. "Huh?" Yami blinked, in his dozy state, not sure what was going on. Yugi smiled, and closed his eyes, leaning over to trail tiny  
kisses down the side of Yami's neck. The Pharaoh suddenly realised that this was the tickling sensation he had earlier. With his free arm (Yugi was kinda sitting on the other one) he reached over and lifted Yugi's face up. "You planned this, didn't you?" he asked, smirking. "Why, of course!" Yugi said, giggling. Yami nodded. "I thought as much. Well, better finish what  
you started!" he said, pulling Yugi in to kiss him tenderly.  
  
/This is my way of saying sorry properly./ Yugi said in Yami's mind, his  
mouth unable to move because of Yami's intrusive kiss.  
  
//You don't need to apologise!// Yami replied.  
  
/But I want to.../  
  
Yami broke away from his aibou, and flipped him over, so that he was now on top of the smaller boy, instead of the other way around. Yugi whimpered a  
little, until Yami silenced the sound with his lips, trailing his hands  
over the small body below him, carefully undoing the buttons of Yugi's night-shirt. Yugi smiled inwardly; Yami didn't exactly wear much in bed,  
usually just his underwear. The young boy gasped, as, Yami's bare chest  
pressed down on his own, and Yami took the opportunity to kiss him more passionately, letting his tongue wander around the inside of Yugi's mouth.  
  
Yugi's delicate fingers crept across Yami's slightly tanned skin, trailing across the Pharaoh's chest, moving so lightly that Yami could hardly feel  
them there, until the small fingers danced across his nipples, and he paused, slightly surprised. Usually Yugi allowed Yami to dominate him, but the boy this time chose to hold his own over Yami. Yami sighed to himself,  
letting his dominace recede. He felt Yugi smirk against his lips, then  
worked to remove his own pyjama bottoms.  
  
Yugi playfully pushed Yami onto his back, kissing him with all the love he could find. Yami's eyes grew wide as Yugi's gentle touch and kisses fell  
across his body like rain. He arched a little, as Yugi's tongue trailed across one of his nipples. Yugi looked up, smirking so much that Yami felt he was looking into a mirror, and repeated the action. Yami threw his arms over Yugi's back, holding the boy close. "Aishiteru... eien..." Yami said,  
his strong voice breaking from his small pants. "Hai, Yami. Eien." Yugi  
replied, pulling first his own, and then Yami's boxers off.  
  
Yami gasped at the sudden feeling of their naked bodies pressed together so close. The pressure building inside of him was tremendous, and it was a few  
moments before he realised that Yugi had stopped. He looked over at the  
hikari boy curiously, and seeing that Yugi was lying back against the pillows, like he was surrendering to Yami. The Pharaoh smiled softly, and  
quickly positioned himself, rolling his hips forward as far as he could into his aibou. Yugi bit his lip, arching his back as the pleasure grew in  
him too, because Yami was making sure it did. Yami moaned quietly, his breathing becoming heavier, and his moans getting louder with each passing  
movement, until Yugi cried out, and Yami fell forward against his koi's  
chest, as they came at the same time.  
  
Yugi sighed, eyes half-closing. Yami was still breathing heavily, resting his head on Yugi's pale chest, eyes wide as he felt all the strength leave  
him.  
  
"A-aishiteru, Y-Yugi..." he said in a voice quite unlike his own, a tired, happy voice. Yugi wrapped his arms about Yami, closing his eyes and falling asleep thinking 'I've found a way to bring a Pharaoh to his knees...' The rhythmic rise and fall of Yugi's chest lulled Yami gently into sleep, and he paused only to kiss Yugi softly on the cheek, before returning to his  
comfortable position to sleep and dream.  
  
~  
  
Pan: Another chapter done! By the way, 'Aishiteru eien' means 'I love you eternally'. I have no idea how this story will end, it may turn out to be  
quite long. 


	12. Lost in Action

Shadows of Demons  
  
Yami opened his eyes slowly as he awoke. He was still huddled up against his aibou-koi, but bright light illuminating the curtains suggested that it was time to get up. Yawning, he carefully left the bed, being sure not to wake Yugi. He grabbed his clothes from where they had been discarded, and a  
towel, making his way to the bathroom for a shower.  
  
The warm water massaged his tanned skin gently, and Yami's mind kept wandering. 'What would happen now?' was the most common thought. The truth had been revealed, Anzu was dead... thinking of which, her body was still  
in Yugi's bedroom. He screwed up his face, thinking that he would get  
Bakura to help with that later.  
  
The phone rang loudly, and sighing, Yami rushed out of the shower, wrapping a towel around him as he went. His wet feet skidded on the bathroom floor, and he fell back, hitting his head on the shower. Not a serious injury, but enough to annoy him as he straightened up, and proceeded towards the phone more slowly. He picked up the receiver, saying an irritated "Moshi moshi"  
before he was interuppted.  
  
"Yami, it's Bakura. We've found Malik; but he's in the Shadow Realm!" a  
voice said frantically. Yami frowned. "The Shadow Realm? How'd he get  
there?" he said, rubbing his head where a bruise was forming under his hair. "No idea; but, he's bound up pretty tight. I need you to come help me free him. Please make it quick; he's been in there a month already!" Bakura said rapidly. "OK, OK, calm down. I'll be there in fifteen minutes." Yami  
said, replacing the phone with a click.  
  
Hurriedly, he returned to his room, currently shared by Yugi, who was still  
asleep. He pulled on his normal outfit, and scribbled a note in his reasonably bad Japanese. Hopefully, Yugi would know what he meant. He laid it on the pillow next to his sleeping koi, and kissed Yugi gently on the  
cheek, before hurrying off.  
  
~  
  
Yugi blinked awake with tired eyes. He instantly noticed that Yami was  
missing, and sat up. He scanned the room for any sign of the older boy, before his eyes fell on the note. He picked it up, and frowned as he tried  
to make out the badly-written characters.  
  
'Yugi,  
  
Bakura found Malik in the Shadow Realm. I go to help him get Malik free. I  
be back soon. Aishiteru, Yami'  
  
Yugi giggled at the writing, promising himself that he would make sure that  
Yami could write Japanese properly. He laid back against the pillows  
contentedly.  
  
~  
  
Yami rang Ryou's doorbell, annoyed that he had forgotten several pieces of  
his attire. His socks, for one, were not on his feet, but lying on his  
bedroom floor somewhere, making his boots feel very uncomfortable. Less important, the array of belts he usually wore. Plus, his hair was drooping  
in a strange manner, with his normally spiked bangs hanging perfectly  
straight either side of his face.  
  
Bakura opened the door, took one look at Yami, and laughed. "Shut up, tomb robber." Yami muttered as he walked in. He narrowed his eyes, as Bakura's  
laughter continued. "Look, do you want me to help or not?" Yami said, irritated already. Bakura nodded, calming down. "Of course, of course. It's very strange; Malik seems to have fallen into the area of the Shadow Realm  
that provides trap cards." he explained. "He's in a Trap Hole." Yami  
frowned. "A Trap Hole? We'd better go pull him out. Got a Remove Trap handy?" he said slowly. "I don't feel like spending too long in the Shadow  
Realm today."  
  
Bakura nodded, holding up a 'Remove Trap' card. "Let's get this over and done with." he said, his Ring beginning to glow. Yami sighed, the Puzzle  
glowing, and they disappeared into the Shadow Realm.  
  
~  
  
Yami looked around slowly. They were surrounded by traps; a maze of Mirror Walls, Trap Holes, and even Waboku waiting to be summoned. Yami shook his head, and grabbed Bakura's arm, leading him past the traps. "You want to be  
more careful, Yami?!" Bakura exclaimed, knowing that these traps were likely to go off if they put one foot wrong. "Iie, Bakura, I'm the Pharaoh; none of these traps will hurt me." Yami, told him irritably. "But they'll hurt me!" Bakura complained. "No they won't; that's why I'm holding onto  
you." Yami said.  
  
"You're not normally like this..." Bakura said quietly. Yami ignored him, walking to the edge of one of the Trap Holes and looking in. "Found him..." he said. At the base of the deep, dark pit, Marik sat unconscious, his back against one of the pit walls, and his head hanging forward. Bakura noticed the Millennium Rod lying nearby; not inside the pit, but next to a Mirror  
Wall.  
  
"Come on, no time to lose." Yami sighed, standing up straight. "Cast it quickly." Bakura frowned slightly, but moved towards the pit, and held up the Remove Trap card. In a quick flash of magic, the base of the Trap Hole  
rose up to level the ground before them, and bring it's captive to the surface. Bakura hastily picked up the Millennium Rod, and knelt down next  
to Marik, who was now lying out flat on the dark ground before them.  
  
"Hey, Marik, you in there? Wake up now!" Bakura said, half cheerfully, carefully wrapping one of his friend's hands around the chill gold of the Rod. Sighing as Marik's eyes stayed firmly closed, he shook the boy gently to try and wake him. Yami's eyes slid shut, and the Puzzle glowed softly.  
  
"He's still in there." he reported to Bakura. The Puzzle glowed brighter. "He hasn't gone past the Second Shadow Gate, which is lucky considering the  
time he's been here." Smiling, Bakura supported Marik into a siting position, and smacked him across the face. Pale lavender eyes shot open, and the Rod was reflexively raised to attack. "Hey! I just saved your life,  
idiot!" Bakura said, standing up. Marik rubbed his head. "Bakura? Yami?  
What's going on? Why are we in the Shadow Realm?" he asked, very slowly standing up. "Don't know, but you were in a Trap Hole for a month." Yami  
told him. "But I suggest we get out of here now." His crimson eyes were suddenly filled with worry. The Puzzle's light began to flicker and go out.  
  
"Bakura, take Marik and go. Now." Yami said quickly. Bakura looked at him in confusion. "Why?" Yami closed his eyes tightly, like he was trying to hold something in. "Because it's too dark here, and I can't get out quickly enough! Go!" he said loudly. Realization dawned on Bakura's face. "I'm not going, I can stop him, you know that!" he said, stepping forward to grab  
the Pharaoh's arms.  
  
"In your dreams!" Youkai's eyes opened sharply, the red Eye forming on his  
forehead and wings wrenching themselves from his back. Bakura stumbled backwards. Youkai appluaded sarcastically. "You really are clever - getting Yami into the Shadow Realm for me. You didn't realise, did you? No light?  
Just like a moonless night!" he said.  
  
"Bakura... what's going on?" Marik asked quietly. Bakura glanced over his shoulder. "Well, it takes forever to explain, and Yami's the best one to do that so..." Bakura's deep brown eyes settled on the Rod clutched in Marik's  
hands. "Got it! Marik, use the Rod on Youkai!" he said quickly. Marik stared at him blankly. "Yami." Bakura told him. "We just need him out of  
the Shadow Realm!"  
  
Youkai was behind Bakura in a second, twisting his arm up behind his back. "No, no, we mustn't be doing that..." he murmured. He put his free hand in the air next to Bakura's head. The tomb robber's eyes widened as a long, black dagger formed in it. "Marik, if you're going to do anything, do it  
now..." Bakura said quietly.  
  
Marik shook his head free of confusion; now was not the time to ask questions. Despite being weakened by his holiday in the Shadow Realm, he  
raised the Rod. Magical light flowed from it, illuminating the area,  
including the half of Youkai's face that wasn't obscured by Bakura's  
shadow. The light revealed a worried, pleading look. Marik forced his  
presence into Youkai's mind.  
  
~  
  
It was dark. Very dark. Marik scanned the room; this was Youkai's mind. Not  
much to hold onto and control... but a dim ray of light illuminated one  
corner. In that corner, a figure, lying out on the cold, stone floor,  
asleep, with chains around their wrists. The light was too dim to see  
exactly who it was, but even Marik could guess.  
  
~  
  
"Get... out... of... my... head..." Youkai growled quietly, releasing  
Bakura. "It's not your head!" Marik shouted. The magic took effect, and Youkai stood still, eyes blank. Bakura rushed forward and transported them  
quickly out of the Shadow Realm.  
  
~  
  
"Yami-kun, wake up..." Bakura shook the ex-Pharaoh violently. He stood up,  
sighing. "It's no use; he won't wake up." Marik looked confused, Bakura looked annoyed, and Ryou looked frustrated. "You did de-spell him, didn't you?" Ryou asked Marik quietly. "Yes..." the Egyptian replied. "None of my  
magic is left in him. But... maybe we should take him home..." Bakura  
smirked. "I'm sure Yugi could help wake him up."  
  
Carrying an unconscious boy through the streets of Domino was bound to look suspicious, so Marik spelled people; making them ignore the unusual group. Yami was breathing shallowly, he was certainly still alive, but it was like  
his mind was missing; unable to wake without it.  
  
Ryou rang the doorbell as they arrived at the house joined into the Kame  
Game Shop. Yugi opened the door, greeting them brightly.  
  
"Yeah, yeah." Bakura pushed past him quickly, putting Yami down on the sofa, happy to rid himself of his load. "What happened?" Yugi asked, eyes wide in shock. "The Shadow Realm. It was too dark, and Youkai came out." Bakura explained. "Marik stopped him magically, but when we got back into  
the true realm, Yami wouldn't wake up." Yugi frowned. "Marik controlled  
Youkai's mind, which was at the time holding Yami's mind captive." he  
stated. Comprehension dawned on Marik's face. "I can't sens eany of my magic in Yami, because it's not there. It's still in Youkai, whoever that may be, and unless I command it, Yami's mind won't be released." he said  
quickly. "But without Youkai in true existance, I can't de-spell him."  
  
Yugi knelt down beside his sleeping darker. "I'll have to do it." he said. "The Puzzle doesn't work for me the way it does for Yami, but I'll have to  
try. The next new moon isn't for another month."  
  
"Good luck..." Ryou said quietly.  
  
~  
  
Pan: Updates will be fewer and further between now, I'm afraid. I'm back at school again, and I'm steadily running out of ideas. I don't know how I'm going to finish this off. It may end up in a sequel. Oh well. I'll do the  
next update as soon as possible. 


	13. Discovery

Shadows of Demons  
  
Yugi closed his eyes, his form melting into the Puzzle, and he found himself in the long, dark corridor that ran between his soul room and Yami's. His own door was welcomingly ajar - just as always. But Yami's... Yami's was tightly bolted shut. Yugi reached up, and touched one of the heavy locks, a loud click as the bars slid back, and the padlock dropped onto the floor. Yugi proceeded to touch each lock in turn, each one clicking and breaking the silence that rang down the hallway. The final padlock clattered onto the floor, and Yugi slowly pushed the door open.  
  
He knew that this room was dark, but now, the darkness blinded him, making him unable to see anything. As he stepped in, the door swung shut behind him with a clang - he was firmly shut in. And he was beginning to understand why Yami hated being in the dark too long - that's what five- thousand years in a Puzzle can do to you.  
  
He stood still for a while. If he moved, he might get caught in one of Yami's rogue mid traps, ones that had not quite been eradicated, and didn't care whether Yugi was part of their owner or not. Yugi sighed, knowing that nothing would happen if he did nothing, so he began to move around. He had walked into walls countless times, before he found that now, the only door was the one he had entered by. He returned to what he imagined to be the centre of the room, and sat down. "Oh, Yami-koi, where are you?" he murmured, his voice reasonably loud in the dark silence. He closed his eyes, suddenly wishing that he had the Ring's locating power.  
  
A tiny ray of light fell from some unknown place above, and reflected off of a highly polished metal surface. It reflected straight into Yugi's eyes, and for a few moments, he was half-blinded by the sudden illumination. As her recovered, he got up and walked towards the metal it reflected off. He drew very close, before...  
  
"OUCH!" he yelled, the sound reverberating around the room, as he had tripped over something. "By Ra, what was that? Did I just say that? I really HAVE been around Yami too long..." he murmured. He got up again, attempting to find out what he had tripped over. "Damn, it's too dark..."  
  
He looked to his Puzzle. "You work for Yami, onegai, work for me!" He focused his mind on the Puzzle, trying to make it light so that he could see what he was doing. After a few moments of desperately willing the golden item to do what he wanted, it glowed brightly, and lit up everything nearby. Within seconds, it was answered by another glow, right in front of Yugi. The metal had been the Millennium Puzzle itself, lying on the floor next to it's sleeping owner. Yami looked almost comfortably asleep, as if he had been in bed, at home, but for the heavy shackles around his wrists. From what Yugi could see, the shackles were attached to long chains that connected to the wall, a few metres above him. The Puzzle lay by his side, glowing as it reacted to Yugi's.  
  
"Yami-koi, finally..." Yugi said, kneeling down. "Come on, wake up!" The darkness around them loomed in, and Yugi's muscles tensed in fear of what could be waiting, however unlikely. He ran a finger over the sleeping Pharaoh's cheek, brushing away the golden bangs from his face. "Yami, please wake up! Youkai's not here, he's trapped somewhere, come on!" Tears rolled slowly down Yugi's face, falling soundlessly onto the floor.  
  
'He really is beautiful when he sleeps...' Yugi thought. His hands gently stroked Yami's calm features, begging the older boy to awaken. 'Shame he has to live forever in the shadow of a demon...' The tears began to fall quicker. "Oh, Yami! Why did you choose to suffer for me?!" Yugi leaned forward, sobbing onto Yami's chest. "Why am I the cause of everything that goes wrong for you?! Maybe it shouldn't have been me who put the Puzzle together, you've suffered for me so much! You weren't supposed to feel more sorrows like this! Why... why...?"  
  
"Kara... aishiteru..." a voice replied. Yugi opened his eyes and looked up, happy and saddened at the same time, to see Yami's crimson eyes full of a pained expression. The elder struggled to sit up, and shook his head as if to get rid of the sleepiness. Yugi carefully threw his arms around Yami, hugging him tightly. "I'm so glad you're alright!" he said brightly. Yami smiled softly. Pushing Yugi aside gently, he tried to pull his arms free from the heavy metal rings. A few minutes of trying, to no avail, and Yami rested against the wall. "It's no use..." he said. "I can't get free." Yugi frowned slightly, lifting one of Yami's wrists to examine the shackle more closely. It was very heavy, and strong, despite looking ancient. "Can't you return your mind to your body?" he asked. Yami shook his head. "No; not until I'm free here. Even if I'm conscious, the purpose of these shackles is to keep me here, without letting me wake up in my body." he explained. Yugi sighed. "If you can't break them, I can't, but what about the Puzzle?" Yami cast his eyes to the ground. "I seriously doubt it." he said quietly. "You may just have to wait until the next new moon comes."  
  
Yugi shook his head violently. "I'm not leaving you here for a month!" he said firmly. "I'm not leaving until you're coming with me!" Yami smiled gently, but sadly. "Your courage and determination have always been admirable, but this time you may have to give in." he said. "It is only a month." "Even an hour without you seems like an eternity." Yugi said, tears running freely over his cheeks. "How would I cope for a month?"  
  
Yami fought back tears of his own. 'A love so deep... this is what I am destined for." he thought. Yugi's arms suddenly wrapped around him, pulling him away from his thoughts. Smiling, he returned the hug as best he could. The room seemed to get warmer, and slightly lighter while they were so close. Yami's eyes widened slightly. 'This is a strange twist...' he thought. 'Yugi's love woke me up, the love we share is warming and lighting this room... so maybe my love can get us out of here...'  
  
Carefully, Yami put his left hand on Yugi's cheek, making him look up, trusting eyes glistening with tears. Yami's softened eyes reassured the younger boy, as he leaned forward, his lips brushing Yugi's petal soft ones. Yugi sighed quietly, his eyes sliding half-shut, reaching up to kiss Yami again. The Pharaoh leaned forward into the kiss, his love for his little angel forever flowing through his body, heart and mind, and into Yugi's. He pulled Yugi closer to him, kissing him gently, yet more passionately, so much so that he didn't notice the bright eye light up on his forehead, golden light streaming around the pair, shattering the chains. Eventually, the glow engulfed them, and both re-awoke in the real world.  
  
~  
  
Yugi sighed happily, pulling his hand away from the Puzzle. He looked at the sleeping form before him with concern, until Yami's crimson-red eyes opened, and he sat up, rubbing his head. Marik, Bakura and Ryou stood nearby. "Hello, Pharaoh." Marik said, smiling. "How was your siesta?" Yami looked up, seeming a little out of it. "Depends what a siesta is..." he said slowly. Yugi laughed. "Now, will someone please explain to me what is going on?" Marik asked. "Have I got to explain again?" Yami said, rubbing his eyes. "Go ask Bakura. HE understands it." Bakura smirked. "You look like you're drunk." he said carefully. Yami adopted a sarcastic expression. "Yes, Bakura. For the past however long, I've been sitting somewhere in the depths of my mind, drinking." he said. "I could do with a REAL nap now..." Yugi smiled. "Come on then. You'd better go to bed." he said, helping his dazed koi up. "Bakura, tell Marik what's going on. If there's any questions, wait until Yami's normal again."  
  
"What's normal?" Yami said with a yawn, halfway up the stairs.  
  
~  
  
Pan: I like that chapter. What about you? Anyways, I got my website online ^-^ it's at www.yami-no-yuugi.co.uk.tt if you're interested. I'm making a list of fanfic authors there too, so if you want you name on the list, go check it out. 


	14. Interlude: Paper Boats

Shadows of Demons

  


Pan: Oh my Ra, it's a songfic chapter. For those of you who don't know me, this is what I do when I need time to work out what happens next (interesting things soon, need to figure out how it exactly happens.)

  


The song words are written in italics. Unfortunately for you, it's not just one song. It's different parts of songs that I happened to pick out. They include Kawaita Sakebi, Ano Hi no Gogo, Hitori Janai, Dan Dan Kokoro Hikareteku, Ore Dake no Kotoba de and Ashita Moshi Kimi ga Kowaretemo. Good for you, though, I wrote them out in English. Aren't I nice.

  


~

  


Yami slowly blinked his eyes open as he woke up. It was very dark - must have been nearly midnight. He rubbed his eyes, and looked around. He was in his own room, in his own bed. He sighed thankfully, and pulled the sheets up around him. As he did so, he noticed Yugi curled up next to him, fast asleep. He smiled gently, and put one arm protectively over his young aibou's form, falling back into a dreamy sleep.

  


~

  


Yami looked around. He was standing at the edge of a lake, surrounded by forest. The sky was deep pink, the sun casting red light out over all, reflecting from the clear water. 

  


_Together we cross countless sadness,_

_Never stopping, we seek that day, until we become apologetic_

_If the times were reset, we'd still meet somewhere_

_Until that day comes, never give up_

  


A paper boat floated by Yami's feet. He bent down to pick it up. Closely examining it's clean white form, he sighed and sat down, looking out over the lake.

  


_To be me as myself,_

_Recklessly only looking ahead_

_Without giving up the time_

_To notice you are being protected..._

  


A second boat floated by, followed by another, and another, until an entire fleet was bobbing across the shimmering water. Yami looked up, to see Yugi nearby, surrounded by squares of white paper. Every so often, he would pick one up, deftly fold it into a boat, and set it one the water.

  


_If you could shatter tomorrow,_

_I guess I'd keep wandering_

_Loving you, I discovered for the first time,_

_That fear of losing you._

  


Yugi held the last piece of paper in his hands.Sighing, he folded it, not into a boat this time, but into a small white bird. It rested lightly on the palm of his hand, nearly carried away by the breeze.

  


_I'm no longer alone, I can have more freedom,_

_I can throw away things like pride and doubt_

_Having the pleasure of someone by my side,_

_I can finally understand that you must believe in people_

_Because I met you._

  


Yugi turned his sparkling eyes towards Yami and smiled. Slowly, he walked over, and sat next to the ex-Pharaoh. The sun sank below the horizon, and all became dark, save for the stars and moon twinkling over head. Distorted silver reflections were cast across the lake and the boats, but Yami and Yugi were in the shadows.

  


_You see, when I met you,_

_I remembered the view that I had treasured as a child,_

_Won't you dance with me?_

_It's a winding road of light and shadows..._

_There are times when I felt I wanted to turn back,_

_But holding love, courage and pride, I shall fight._

  


Yugi rested his head on Yami's shoulder, placing the bird in his hand. Yami's eyes widened as the little paper bird became a dove, and flew away, even as it touched his hand. Yugi smiled, and giggled, watching the bird glide away across the night sky.

  


_In words which are mine alone_

_I want to tell you,_

_That on the other side of sadness,_

_I can see light._

  


"Aishiteru..." Yugi said quietly. "Aishiteru..." Yami replied.

  


~

  


When Yami awoke again, the dim light of dawn had illuminated the room. He smiled, remembering his strange dream. Rolling his eyes, he turned to look at Yugi.

  


A sweet little angel, fast asleep. 'MY sweet little angel...' Yami thought possessively. He felt Yugi's soft breathing tickle his face. Unable to resist, he kissed Yugi lightly, a kiss almost not there. He didn't want to wake his beautiful koi. The Puzzle glittered gently, resting on the bedside table. Yami's hand wandered to his own Puzzle, the one he could never take off. Most of the time he forgot about it; sometimes it just didn't seem to be there, despite knowing he didn't take it off. So strange that a piece of gold brought them together, but Yami didn't ask questions about it, for fear that if he doubted it, he would awake, and find himself in his homeland, in his home time, and find that everything was just a dream.

  


Still asleep, Yugi snuggled up closer to Yami, smiling contentedly. What were the shadows of a demon to the dreams of an angel?

  


~

  


Pan: Cute. Forgive me if it takes a while for me to update. Some pretty drastic things have to happen soon - I know what has to happen, I'm just not sure how it will work. Thinking time.


	15. Innocence's Definition

Shadows of Demons  
  
Pan: You lot better read this carefully, it's important. VERY important. Saying no more now.  
  
And sorry this is taking me so long. Schoolwork is a nightmare at the moment.  
  
~  
  
"Bakura, you idiot!" Malik shouted. "You can't even translate your own language!" The group sat in Yugi's lounge. Malik had agreed to help Yami out, and Bakura was showing him what he had come up with. "What?" Yami asked exasperated. Malik sighed. "Bakura translated something wrong. What he read doesn't say 'consume the blood of a mortal', it says 'take the heart of an innocent'. Heart as in affection, not the organ." he explained. "Ah." Yami said shortly.  
  
"So why did Youkai go for Anzu then?" Yugi asked. Malik rolled his eyes. "Think about it. Would Youkai really want to free Yami? He went for Anzu purely because that's what he does - kills and hurts people." he said. Yami nodded. "Makes sense." Yugi sighed. "We told Anzu's parents that she went out one day while she was with us, and didn't come back. I hate lying." he said slowly and sadly. "Would you rather tell them the truth, Yugi?" Bakura asked. Yugi shook his head. "No! Of course not, but I still don't like it." Yami closed his eyes. "She's in a better place now; I have no doubts that her heart balanced the Feather of Truth and she entered the true Afterlife." he said, resorting to his beliefs of the long-gone past. "I do..." Bakura muttered.  
  
"Well, we should return our thoughts to what we can do to prevent it happening again." Malik said calmly. "We cannot allow anyone else to die." "And I won't!" Yami said sharply. Malik sighed. "Yami, please think about what you need to do. 'Take the heart of an innocent' - it's not that simple. The only one who classifies as innocent is Yugi." he pointed out. "What about Ryou?" Bakura asked. Malik gave him a withering look. "Think before you speak, Bakura. You wouldn't let Ryou do such a thing, and I doubt Ryou's innocence anyway." he said. "What are you implying?!" Bakura exclaimed, growing red. "If 'virginity' is what you mean by 'innocent', I don't qualify either." Yugi said quietly. Malik rolled his eyes. "Not that kind of innocence." he said. "What I meant was that Ryou has never really tried to stop Bakura from doing any of the terrible things he's done in the past, making him just as guilty as Bakura. Yugi, on the other hand, has done things, for example, stopping Yami from killing Seto at Duelist Kingdom (and yes, I do know about that!)" "Oh." Bakura said silently.  
  
"But I wouldn't put Yugi in that danger either!" Yami objected. Yugi wrapped his arms around the older boy. "You've got no choice." Yugi said simply. "I-I do!" Yami said, eyes wide. "I can choose to live with it." "And I wouldn't let you do that either." Yugi replied. He rubbed his cheek against the black marks that tainted Yami's bare arm. "But... but..." Yami stuttered.  
  
"I think Yugi's made his descicion." Bakura remarked quietly. "We have a month to plan; best to use that time wisely." Yami pouted slightly, upset at having to put his koi in danger. Yugi hugged him tighter. "Everything will be OK. Kanpeki ni OK."  
  
~  
  
"Yuu-chan, you don't have to do this for me!" Yami said as soon as Bakura and Malik had left. Yugi sighed. "We've been over this; YES I DO!" he said. "I love you, Yami, I don't want you to suffer." Yami's tense frame relaxed, giving in. "Alright..." he said softly. "But... if anything should go wrong... just remember that I love you too. Forever. Longer than forever." Yugi smiled, holding his koibito closer.  
  
"I am getting way too soft..." Yami murmured. "You're not soft. You're just as stubborn as before, it's just I can persuade you better than other people." Yugi said. Yami rolled his eyes. "That's because you have the advantage of being able to see into my mind." he pointed out.  
  
~  
  
~  
  
A month passed all too fast for Yami to bear. No matter what he did, he couldn't shake the terrible feeling that something bad was to happen - and this feeling made him grow quieter, and more distant. He spent prolonged amounts of time staring at the ceiling in his room, much to Yugi's concern.  
  
"Yami, dinner time!" Yugi called up the stairs. The was a short pause. "I'm not hungry." Yami answered. "Yes you damn well are..." Yugi muttered, punctuating each word with a heavy footstepas he walked up to Yami's room. Once again, the ancient Pharaoh was staring at the ceiling. "Yami, get up, and get downstairs NOW!" Yugi shouted. Yami sat up to look at him. "Just leave me alone..." "NO!" Yugi marched over to him, and tugged on his arm. "You are getting up, whether you like it or not!" "Ohhhh..." Yami whined, reluctantly getting to his feet, and being dragged down the stairs by Yugi, and into the lounge.  
  
"SURPRISE!"  
  
Yami nearly fell over in shock. "Wh-what are you all doing here?" he asked, with wide eyes. Jonouchi walked over to him. "Well, Yugi told us you were feeling down, so we all got together to have a party for you!" he said happily. Yami glared down at Yugi. "'Specially after what happened to Anzu..." Honda commented. "They never found out what happened to her, did they?" "N-no..." Yami said quietly.  
  
Yugi broke the ensuing silence by putting a CD on. "Come on! All this food and stuff took me forever!" he said, smiling.  
  
//You didn't need to do this, Yugi...//  
  
/Yes I did! You've been so depressed lately./  
  
There was a knock at the door. When Yugi answered it, Ishizu entered, with an extremely put-out Seto Kaiba in tow. "Nice one, Ishizu!" Yugi chirped. 'Now what?' Yami thought wearily.  
  
"Can we just get this over with? I'm a very busy man!" Seto protested. "Yes, yes..." Yugi said. "Right, Yami, since a duel tends to be the only thing - apart from things that will not be mentioned here - that cheers you up, me and Ishizu have got Kaiba here to duel you. Up for it?" Yami smirked, he was most certainly cheering up. "Anytime..." he said. Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Come on, then, if losing cheers you up..."  
  
"Kaiba, you and I have dueled three times in this lifetime. I have won twice, and would have won a third if Yugi hadn't stopped me." Yami said, taking his deck out from its permanent place in a pouch on his belt. He sat down, cross-legged behind the coffee table, due to the lack of space, and Duel Disks at that point in time. Still, it was amusing to see Kaiba actually sit down in a similar manner.  
  
(Pan: Please note, I only own a Yugi Starter Deck, and a couple of boosters (effectively combined into a Yami deck!) I don't know the full stats of Kaiba's card, so I'm more than likely to mess up some points.)  
  
Yami: 4000  
  
Kaiba: 4000  
  
"My turn first!" Yami said. "And I'll summon Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress, sign of attack!" He laid the card down before him. To add to the fun, the puzzle glowed a little, and a miniature Winged Dragon appeared, standing atop its card. "And I'll add this card, face down." Yami laid another card down, behind the Dragon.  
  
"Fine. I summon the Hitotsu-Me Giant, sign of attack." Kaiba said, smirking as Yami made the monster appear. "And I'll attack your Dragon!" The small blue dragon disappeared as Yami placed the card in the Graveyard. "Then I can play this card - Last Will!" He flipped up the green Magic Card he had laid earlier. "When a monster of mine is destroyed, I can Special Summon a monster of 1500 attack points or less from my deck!" Yami sorted through his deck, searching for the card he wanted. "This one." He laid the card on the field, face down, in defensive mode.  
  
Yami: 3900  
  
Kaiba: 4000  
  
"And it's now my turn." Yami added, drawing from his deck. "I'll put these two cards face down." He said. "And summon another monster, sign of defence." He looked up. "Your turn."  
  
Kaiba frowned. "I'll summon this, sign of defence..." he said, laying a card down. "And Hitotsu-Me Giant, attack that card!" Yami flipped the card as Kaiba attacked. "Sorry, Kaiba." A blue figure in a green dress appeared. "Mystical Elf. You lose 500 life points."  
  
Yami: 3900  
  
Kaiba: 3500  
  
"I'll sacrifice my other defence card - Doma the Angel of Silence - to summon Summoned Skull, sign of attack! And I'll destroy your Hitotsu-Me Giant!"  
  
Yami: 3900  
  
Kaiba: 2500  
  
Kaiba smirked. "I play Fissure! This destroys your weakest monster in attack mode!" Yami tossed his Summoned Skull to the Graveyard. "And I play Monster Reborn, to bring back my Hitotsu-Me Giant." Kaiba laughed. "You've had it, Yami! I sacrifice BOTH monsters to summon my Blue-Eyes White Dragon, sign of attack! And I'll destroy your Mystical Elf!" Yami silently placed his Elf in the Graveyard.  
  
"Kaiba, Kaiba, Kaiba." Yami said slowly. "I will concede the right to draw a single card each turn, as all I need is on the playing field before me." He gestured to his cards. "First, I will use Card Destruction to draw a new hand." He discarded the pair of cards in his hand for two new ones.  
  
"Now, for my finishing move! I play Change of Heart, and I'll take over your Dragon!" Yami smirked. "Then, adding Sword of Deep-Seated, to raise it's attack to 3500. And, as you have no other cards on the field, I'll attack!"  
  
Yami: 3900  
  
Kaiba: 0  
  
"That was a good duel." Yami commented. "I definately feel better. Thanks for that, Kaiba!" He got to his feet, leaving Kaiba to try and figure out how the Pharaoh had won so quickly. 


	16. Opposites

Shadows of Demons  
  
Pan: Angel Reaper, never fear, Yugi will be perfectly safe. Only Anzu dies in this (good in my opinion).  
  
I'll probably answer reviews properly next chapter, so if you have anything to ask, ask it!  
  
This chapter will just about wrap up the entire fic. Aw... well, I always have a finale chapter and an epilogue, so there should be at least two more chapters to go.  
  
~  
  
"Tomorrow is the New Moon..." Yami murmured absently, looking out his window. Yugi sighed, sitting on the bed behind him. "You know we're ready. Bakura and Malik will be there - there's not much more we can do to protect ourselves." he said. "I know, koi, I know!" Yami yelled, turning to face the smaller boy. "It doesn't make me feel any better about it though!" Yugi looked at the ground. "Nobody could feel good about it." he said quietly. Yami's eyes softened. "I'm sorry I shouted..." he said, sitting down next to Yugi, and putting his arm about his shoulders. "It's just got me so worked up..." Yugi looked up at him. "I understand... it must be hard for you... I'm scared too, if it helps."  
  
Yami looked towards the window. "The only time you saw YoukaiYami was that night when Anzu..." his voice trailed off. Yugi nodded. "Yeah..." he replied. Yami took a deep breath. "Yugi, please tell me now if you don't want to do this, because I won't make you!" he said very quickly. Yugi smiled gently. "I'd do anything for you." he said, kissing Yami on the cheek. Yami turned, brushing his lips against Yugi's softly, and then again, with more passion behind it. Yugi responded joyfully, pressing his body close up against Yami's, until they lost the balance to remain sitting up, and fell back onto the soft bed.  
  
Yugi murmured 'Aishiteru' against Yami's lips, running his hands through the Pharaoh's hair. A thought came into Yami's mind, and he sat up, breaking away from Yugi. The smaller boy gave a small whimper of disappointment.  
  
"I know how we'll know that both of us will come through this together." Yami said, smiling. Yugi sat up too, giving Yami a curious look. "It's simple. I promise you, that the night after tomorrow, I will be your lover as before. And you promise the same." Yami explained. Yugi nodded. "Alright. I promise you that as well; and neither of us may break that vow." he said brightly.  
  
~  
  
Yugi blearily opened his eyes the next morning, to the surprise of him being in bed alone. Since Anzu had died in his bed, he had refused to sleep in it, and therefore, shared with Yami. "Ya-chan?" he asked, sitting up, as if his koi was hiding somewhere in the room. "I wonder where he is..." he murmured, climbing out of bed, and making his way towards the door.  
  
He walked down the stairs, yawning quietly. His bare feet padded softly on the carpeted floor.  
  
"Yugi? Is that you?" Yami's voice asked from the lounge. Smiling, Yugi made straight for that room, and sat down next to Yami on the sofa. "Ohayo! What're you doing?" Yugi said, looking at the thick book that Yami had in his lap. "Looking at this..." Yami answered quietly. The book was a photo album; the only one that Yugi owned. It was packed full of pictures from when he was much younger, before he had owned the Puzzle; from when he had first been friends with Jonouchi, when Yami had wreaked havoc on most things that hurt Yugi, though Yugi wasn't aware of it; from Duelist Kingdom, Battle City, and everything in between and after.  
  
"Did you know that there's only one picture of us together in this?" Yami asked. Yugi thought for a moment. "No, I didn't." he answered truthfully. "Well, there is, and it's from the end of Battle City." Yami told him. Yugi sighed. "I guess I forgot about taking photos... we should really have a better one together..." he said, looking at the Battle City photos on the page before him. "Jonouchi never was good with a camera..." The last photo, of both Yami and Yugi, was slightly out of focus, and sideways. Something to do with Anzu hanging around Jonouchi's neck, as he had just been revived. Yami laughed. "Well, he had just been brought back from the dead!" Yugi giggled. "I think we can forgive him that one time. I'll find my camera later - I hope there's some film left in it, my digital one broke months ago." he said. Yami sighed - another two items that he wasn't allowed to touch.  
  
"I'm hungry!" Yugi said suddenly. "I'm going to make breakfast. Do you want anything?" He got to his feet again. Yami shrugged, putting the photo album down. "I think that's a yes." Yugi said, trotting off to the kitchen. Yami rolled his eyes a little, before turning the TV on.  
  
"The body of sixteen-year-old Mazaki Anzu of Domino City was pulled out of the water at the docks earlier this morning, when a fisherman accidentally hooked part of her clothing. Police originally thought that she had fallen in and drowned, until the body was recovered and a stab wound was found in the chest. They are now beginning a full-scale murder investigation..." the newsreader said, news being the first thing that Yami found. "Oh shit..." he muttered. "But, since she was killed by a magical weapon, they shouldn't be able to find anything out..."  
  
Yugi stuck his head back into the lounge. "They're beginning a murder investigation for Anzu?" he said. "We should make sure Bakura knows about that - it was him who hid her body." Yami looked at him. "If Anzu's death is traced to anyone, it will be to Bakura." he stated. "But I'm sure he'll be alright.... do I smell smoke?" Yugi's eyes widened, and he turned around.  
  
The toaster was spewing out black smoke. "Shit!" Yugi swore loudly. He coughed hard, and Yami jumped up to pull him away from the smoke-filled kitchen. "I can do without you dying of smoke inhalation!" the ex-Pharaoh said. "Well, do something... I don't want the whole house catching fire!" Yugi said between coughs. "And DON'T use water!" Yami blinked, confused. "Why? Water would put the fire out!" he said in bewilderment. "Water conducts electricity - the toaster is electric, it would make the fire worse." Yugi explained. "Ah..." Yami sighed. "I'll have to put it out magically then."  
  
He walked straight into the kitchen - the smoke was beginning to leak out into the rest of the house now. Carefully concentrating on the Puzzle, and trying to ignore his difficulty breathing, he summoned up enough magic to extinguish the fire, without using water. Yugi rushed in with a damp cloth held over his mouth and nose, and proceeded to open every door and window possible, before dragging Yami away.  
  
"Well, what a fun way to spend the morning..." Yugi said sarcastically. "And you accuse me of making toasters explode!" Yami smirked. Yugi rolled his eyes. "Maybe we'll have a breakfast that doesn't involve heating things up..." he said thoughtfully. "Such as?" Yami asked. "Now that's a good question." Yugi replied.  
  
~  
  
~  
  
Yami hugged Yugi tightly as he watched the sun sink below the horizon, the red sky heralding nightfall. Behind them, the white electric light illuminated the room. Bakura and Malik leant against the far wall.  
  
"Thank you for going through with this..." Yami murmured quietly. "I would do anything for you." Yugi reminded him. Slowly, Yami closed the curtains, covering the only window in his room. "Bakura, will you... put me to sleep again?" he asked as he turned around. Bakura nodded gently, gesturing towards the bed.  
  
"I will see you later, koi." Yami said, smiling weakly at Yugi. Yugi smiled back, though his eyes held deep concern.  
  
Yami climbed onto his bed and lay down, looking at Bakura. "I'm ready..." he said quietly. Bakura walked over to him, the Ring beginning to glow slightly. "Just relax and close your eyes, you've done this before..." he said, closing his own eyes to cast the sleeping spell over Yami. Within seconds, the Puzzle spirit was fast asleep, breathing soundlessly, almost as if nothing were to happen.  
  
"Are you ready, Yugi-kun?" Malik asked. "H-hai..." Yugi stammered, obviously afraid. "You don't sound it." Malik said, hesitating. Yugi took a deep breath. "I'm ready." he said. Malik bit his lip, flipping the switch to turn the light out.  
  
For a few moments, it was almost as if nothing was going to happen. Yugi began to relax, but immediately tensed as a burning red light began to glow in the darkened room. Yugi watched in considerable fear, as he saw Yami's body sit up, almost of its own accord, saw black wings draw themselves from Yami's shoulders, and worst of all in Yugi's mind, see Yami's normally determined-yet-soft crimson eyes open to reveal evil, blood-tainted ones.  
  
"So..." Youkai said, getting to his feet. "I finally get to meet little Muto Yugi, the one I find everywhere in Yami's mind." Yugi looked up bravely. "So desu..." he said. 'It's just Yami, just Yami,' he repeated over and over in his thoughts. "Who would have thought that Yami would be careless enough to leave me in a room with the one he cares about most?" Youkai smirked, walking towards Yugi. "Even if there are two other Millennium Item holders here."  
  
"I'm not afraid of you..." Yugi said. "Shame, you should be." Youkai told him, stopping less than a metre away from the smaller boy. "You're just Yami, why should I be afraid of you?" Yugi said, looking away slightly. Youkai laughed darkly. "Just Yami? I'm more than 'just Yami'. I'm the result of millennia of dark thoughts, gathered together and given form on the darkest nights." he said, placing his hand on Yugi's cheek and forcing him to look up into his eyes.  
  
Yugi's own hand moved up to stroke Youkai's cheek. The demon flinched at the tender touch, eyes widened in surprise. "You really aren't afraid, are you?!" he exclaimed. "No... I've already told you that, Yo-chan..." Yugi said, smiling softly. Youkai started at the use of the affecionate name. The two stood in silence for a few minutes, as Yugi's fingers traced Youkai's familiar features.  
  
Youkai was the first to react, pushing Yugi away from him suddenly. Yugi crashed to the floor painfully. "Then I'll give you reason to be afraid!" Youkai said through gritted teeth. Yugi got up slowly to face the demon again. "I'll never be scared of you - at the moment, you're scared of me." he said bravely. "Scared of you? Don't make me laugh." Youkai denied, getting angrier.  
  
Yugi stepped closer to him. "I'm not scared of you, and I'll prove it." he said, grabbing Youkai's shirt, and pulling the demon forward so that he was at the smaller boy's own level. "If I want my koibito back, you have to take my heart - you have to accept my affection." Yugi told him. "I love Yami, and every part of him, so therefore, I love you!"  
  
"Demo..." Youkai said weakly, voice cut off as Yugi kissed him passionately on the lips. Youkai froze, until something inside him forced him to return the kiss. "This is Yami's emotion!" he hissed as Yugi broke away. "It is your emotion, accept it!" Yugi whispered back, kissing the bewildered demon once again. "How can I accept such a thing?!" Youkai asked when they next broke. "You already have..." Yugi answered.  
  
Youkai's eyes softened, tears began to course down his face. "It's not true! It can't be true!" he said, harsh voice broken by sobs. "It is true!" Yugi said, wrapping his arms around Youkai's neck. His lips brushed softly against Youkai's, and the demon chose to take Yugi's heart. He brought their lips together again, slightly harsher than Yami would. He trailed his tongue along Yugi's bottom lip, before pushing it into Yugi's waiting mouth.  
  
A violet, glowing circle drew itself around the pair. Flames of the same colour flickered around it, and the kanji for 'Youkai' etched itself in red under Youkai's feet. Under Yugi's feet, in a pale, soft blue, the kanji for 'Tenshi', 'angel' drew itself. Youkai broke away from Yugi in surprise, as a column of blue light shot up around the boy.  
  
As the light died, pure white, feathery wings exploded from Yugi's shoulders, his eyes becoming soft blue instead of deep violet. The blood- red third eye on Youkai's forehead shattered and dissolved, and his eyes returned to Yami's crimson, though the demonic wings remained.  
  
"M-my angel..." Yami stammered, reaching his arms out towards Yugi. "My demon!" Yugi cried joyfully, jumping into Yami's waiting arms. Even as he did so, the mystical circle and it symbols faded into nothing. Yugi's wings melted into shimmering white glitter, which disappeared as they fell to the ground. Yami's dispersed in thousands of black particles, disappearing before they touched the floor.  
  
Both boys fell to their knees, then sideways in unconsciousness. The room was returned to darkness.  
  
Malik looked at Bakura. "I think that worked." he said, walking towards Yugi, and picking him up, to place the small boy on the bed. "Why do I have to pick up the heavier one?" he muttered in indignation, lifting Yami to put him on the bed next to Yugi.  
  
"Come on. Let's leave them in peace." Malik said, pushing Bakura out of the room.  
  
"Yugi... boku no tenshi..." Yami murmured in his sleep, placing one arm over Yugi small body and pulling him close.  
  
~  
  
Pan: You'd better like that! It is now 00:20! Twenty past midnight, dammit!  
  
By the way, the next chapter will be the finale, it will not be of immense importance, but it will be a yaoi chapter as per Yami and Yugi's promises.  
  
Yami: Yatta!  
  
Yugi: Heh heh heh...  
  
Pan: *sweatdrops* O...kay, that's weird. You're supposed to be unconscious!  
  
Yugi: Doesn't apply after the little squiggly liney thing that ends the chapter.  
  
Pan: Oh. Anyway, after that, there will be an epilogue. By the way, please tell me if you want a sequel! 


	17. At Long Last

Shadows of Demons  
  
Pan: Sorry, sorry, sorry! This took me FOREVER! However, this is the final chapter (I decided not to write an epilogue, it's more or less included near the end of this). The sequel, 'Dreams of Angels' should be up soon! Thank you everyone who has read and reviewed!  
  
~  
  
Congratulations, Pharaoh...  
  
"Not you again..." Yami muttered.  
  
Yes, me, do you have a problem with that?  
  
"Frankly, yes."  
  
Fine. Maybe I shan't give you your good news then...  
  
"What news?"  
  
You passed the test.  
  
"Test?"  
  
Yes, a test. You see, in becoming a demon, and then having Yugi restore you to near-normal through his own will, your heart was balanced out. If and when you die, your soul will not be devoured, and you'll pass into Duat. So will Yugi.  
  
"Joy of all joys... I've been trying not to think about death, thank you very much."  
  
You're welcome. Oh, and I almost forgot; you also get a wish.  
  
"A wish? Why?"  
  
The Gods are rewarding you, Pharaoh, you would do well to accept it. By the way, don't wish Anzu back from the dead - she's currently in a morgue, and most of her body has decomposed. And it wouldn't be restored if you wished her back. Then it would be like a bad horror movie!  
  
"Ew..."  
  
Yeah, I know. So, what is your wish?  
  
"Err..."  
  
I'm waiting...  
  
"Shut up! Look, can you give me some time to think about this?"  
  
Not really...  
  
"Dammit. Well then... I wish... that Yugi and me could be together always."  
  
Pharaoh, come on, think! That is written in the stars! It'll come to pass, no matter what.  
  
"That's good to know."  
  
So your wish is...?  
  
"I wish that I was no longer bound to the Millennium Puzzle."  
  
You are aware that if that bond breaks, you'll be a plain mortal? Sure, you could still use the magic, but you'll be just like your little Yugi.  
  
"I know that. I'm not immortal anyway, the stupid thing gets in the way, and I've got a different form now as well."  
  
You are surprising, Pharaoh. Not only do you know that you'll have a demonic form forever, but you didn't wish yourself free from it. Very well, your wish is granted. And by the way, you'll be a normal human until you want to assume your demonic form.  
  
"And I'm just like Yugi - except he has an angelic form. Perfect opposites."  
  
I hope I won't be speaking to you for some time, Pharaoh.  
  
"I hope so too..."  
  
I heard that!  
  
~  
  
"Yuu-chan..." Yami murmured, sitting up. His eyes scanned the room - it was dark, but still that kind of light when it's not very late at night. 'I can't have slept long then...' he thought. "Yami!" Yugi chirped bouncing in through the door. "I thought you were never going to wake up!" He threw his arms around Yami's neck, and sat next to the Pharaoh on the bed. "What do you mean?" Yami asked, returning the hug. "You've been asleep for FOUR days!" Yugi told him. "Four days?!" Yami exclaimed. "How long did you sleep!?" "Er, well, Bakura told me that I slept for fourteen hours." Yugi answered.  
  
"I'm sorry." Yami said suddenly. "Doushite?" Yugi asked curiously. "I broke the promise! It was only supposed to be a day..." Yami said. Yugi laughed. "Never mind, Ya-chan! I'm just glad that you're still here!" The fingers of his right hand absently traced Yami's cheekbones, and Yami sighed at the gentle touch. "My angel..." he whispered softly, holding Yugi tight. He suddenly noticed the Puzzle pressing into his stomach, and he looked down at it. 'Let's see if that stupid voice was telling the truth...' he thought.  
  
He brought his hands up to the chain that hung about his neck, and carefully brought it up and over his head. "Yami, what are you doing?!" Yugi said in concern. "You can't take the Puzzle off!" Yami frowned, placing the Puzzle beside him on the bed. He looked down at his hands, hoping not to see them fading away. When they didn't, he put his arms back around Yugi. 'Not so stupid after all...' he thought, smirking. Yugi looked slightly confused, but shrugged it off. "Shall I keep that promise now?" Yami asked quietly. "Only if you're not too tired." Yugi said. "I'm NEVER to tired for you." Yami smiled.  
  
They leaned towards each other, lips meeting in a brief, casual kiss. Yami looked into Yugi's eyes, and noticed, for the first time, that they weren't deep violet anymore. The colour had changed into a warm, bluish purple. "Yugi, what happened to your eyes?" Yami asked quietly. "I'm not quite sure," Yugi said. "Bakura reckons that they changed to oppose you more." Yami shrugged. "I'm not complaining, angel..." he said, capturing Yugi's lips.  
  
Gently, Yami pushed Yugi down to lay on the bed, while Yami leaned over him, his knees either side of Yugi's waist. He ran his tongue lightly over Yugi's lips, before rubbing their noses together, and kissing the young boy passionately. Yugi moaned softly, and Yami took the opportunity to slip his tongue into his koi's warm mouth.  
  
Yugi's fingers ran across Yami's hips, and over his back, pulling the thin body down onto him. Yami smirked as he pulled back to breathe. He pulled his shirt quickly over his head, and threw it to the floor. Yugi tried to pull his own off, but somehow got stuck with it halfway over his head. Yami laughed, and proceeded to tug it off of the smaller boy. Yugi blinked cutely, his hair messed up from his shirt being pulled over his head.  
  
His small fingers traced up Yami's arms, until he got to a point near Yami's left shoulder. The older boy gasped in slight pain, and looked sadly down at his arm. True as ever, the three black marks that were 'Yami', 'Youkai' and 'Life' burned darkly on his skin.  
  
"Never mind, Yo-chan!" Yugi giggled. Yami narrowed his eyes slightly. Yugi stopped laughing, and sighed. "Gomen yo, Ya-chan." he corrected himself. Yami shrugged. "It doesn't matter either way, I'm both people." he said. He ran his fingers down Yugi's chest, before leaning over and kissing the younger boy's neck lightly, moving down the pale body with each kiss. "And both love you..."  
  
Yugi smiled softly, his eyes holding a dreamy look. His delicate fingers moved across Yami's body in an un-rehearsed dance, creating their own tickling steps as they performed. Yami skilfully removed Yugi's pants, throwing them aside before removing his own. Minds and bodies so close, they were almost one person, dark and light united.  
  
"My beautiful angel..." Yami murmured as he pressed his body onto Yugi's. "My beautiful, beautiful angel..." He kissed the boy below him swiftly, yet passionately. He felt Yugi tense beneath him. "Relax, my chiisai ichi..." Yami said. "I would never want to hurt you, but I may if you don't relax." Yugi looked up at him with half-closed, dreamy eyes. "Go ahead, my Yami..." he murmured. "You couldn't hurt me if you tried..." Yami sighed quietly, brushing unkempt bangs away from Yugi's eyes. Unable to contain himself longer, he pushed his throbbing member slowly into Yugi's entrance. The vision of angelicness resting beneath him was his, and his alone and he intended to make it so permanently. He rolled his hips forward, biting his lip as pleasure shot up his body.  
  
Yugi's arms wrapped around Yami, egging the older boy on, and on, and Yami did not disappoint. The pharaoh's breathing quickened as he pushed into Yugi harder, repeating the action over and over, until he gave a shudder as he let go, and Yugi shouted out as the orgasm racked his small body.  
  
"Don't ever leave me... promise me," Yugi whispered as Yami collapsed on top of him. "I promise..." Yami whispered back.  
  
~  
  
The door to Yami's soul room opened slowly. Youkai raised his eyes from the floor of the dark corner of it that he inhabited. "Who's there?" he called out, seeing no-one. He spread out his dark wings, stepping forward into the light. "Show yourself!" he called, looking around carefully. The door stood wide open on a level below him.  
  
"Konnichi wa, Yo-chan!" a figure said, floating up to him. "How are you?" The dark-winged Yami smiled. "Just fine, Tenshi, just fine. Don't scare me like that." The figure landed just in front of him. It was Yugi, but with pure white wings raising from his shoulders, and clear blue eyes. "I'm sorry!" Tenshi smiled. "I just thought I'd come visit you, since you're all lonely here!" Youkai sighed. "I will be here until I am needed. That could be a long time though. You're supposed to be in Yugi's soul room." he said slowly.  
  
Tenshi shrugged. "Sure there are lots of toys there, but nothing quite beats human... er... demon... whatever company!" He said, struggling over what to call Youkai. "I'm a Darker." the taller informed. "I'm not a true demon."  
  
"Sure, whatever you say." Tenshi said contentedly. He looked around the labyrinth soul room. "Doesn't this get confusing?" he said, taking in the sight of upside down staircases, and other stone constructions that defied the laws of physics. Youkai glanced around. "You get used to it. You just have to be careful of the doors, nearly all of them are traps."  
  
"Yo-chan..." Tenshi said quietly. "What do you feel for me?" Youkai frowned at the unexpected question. "I... I guess I love you, just as Yami loves Yugi." he replied, just as quietly. Tenshi grinned. "Good. See ya!" He glided to the exit, and left, the closing door echoing throughout the labyrinth, leaving Youkai to wonder exactly what just happened. 


End file.
